Waves that Change the Tower
by Sangios
Summary: What happens when a snake climbs the Tower, wearing the skin of a human? What about a girl who's blissfully ignorant of the Tower, and her own unique abilities? And how about a swordsman from a certain family, whose honorable goals are as lofty and unrealistic as Parakewl killing Zahard? Follow the journey of three Regulars whose very existences will change the Tower forever...
1. 400 - 200: Part 1

**Waves that Change the Tower: Chapter 1**

The field was open, and full of tall grass, different shades of yellow and brown. Any direction one looked, it seemed to go on forever. Rising from the ground in various locations, were large earthen structures, that would likely provide a better view of the area. Of course, there would be any number of places to hide, within the crevices of these landmarks. Above the land, was a bright blue sky. Floating high above the fields was a massive building with a pink sign that bore the name 'Evankhell'.

Sitting on the ground, a young looking man opened his eyes to scan his surroundings. He stood, stretching out as he took in the unique sights offered by the area. His bright yellow eyes were drawn to the floating structure in the distance. "I see. So this must be the 2nd Floor. I never thought I would actually end up here." A gentle breeze blew past him, his dark brown hair swaying in the wind due to being tied back in a ponytail as usual. In the light, his hair was seen to have a vibrant auburn hue. His initial curiosity had already faded, as he looked over himself, hoping his pale skin would have a chance at getting some color. Feeling a slight chill, he removed a plain black sash from his waist, wrapping it around his neck like a scarf.

_Well... I thought it would look different. Though, this is appealing too, in it's own way._

The sound of a loud buzzer filled the landscape, calling the boy's attention to a yellow and brown box, which matched the color scheme of the current setting. Recognizing the object as a Lighthouse, the premier information gathering tool of the Tower, he tuned in to the voice that came after the buzzer.

"Mic test! Mic test! One! Two! Three! Hello, everyone! Regulars who have just entered the Tower! This is the 2nd Floor, and I sincerely welcome you to Evankhell's Floor! This Floor is also called-"

With a sigh, the boy turned his back toward the Lighthouse, looking across the plains.

_Yes, yes, it's called the Floor of Test. It's where all Regulars end up after being chosen to climb, and is named thus because it's where we're evaluated as being worthy of climbing the Tower or not. Really... is there anyone who would climb without knowing even such a basic piece of information? That voice though. I suppose it belongs to the Test Admin. Meaning, that he's a Ranker. Someone who reached the top of the Zahard Empire, and was given a rank befitting their ability and status. It's only the 2nd Floor though, so I wonder how high any Ranker here could possibly be. I doubt any of them could match the Rankers of my family though._

"Shall we begin with a simple test first? You may as well get a good warmup exercise!" The Ranker's voice caught the attention of the uninterested man at that point.

"A test? Immediately after entering?" The man, who had chosen to climb under the alias of Reilan Seaworth, found himself smiling now.

"This is a very simple test!" The Ranker continued, with an amusingly cheerful tone. "Please, listen carefully to the rules!" There was a short pause, before the voice came out again. "As of now, there are exactly 400 Regulars in this district! Your only goal is to make that 400 go down to 200! The method for this? Why, by any means! The moment the number of Regulars drops to 200, the test will end!"

Reilan tuned out the final words, ones of encouragement, from the Ranker.

_Make the 400 drop to 200 by any means. Then we just have to kill 200 other people and be one of the surviving 200? I've never killed anyone before, but it must not be too difficult. I doubt many Regulars would be able to hold a candle to me anyway. Then again, he DID say any means. I don't necessarily have to kill anyone. I know plenty of ways to simply disable an opponent._

With a sigh, Reilan ran a hand through his hair. The calm of the plains was quickly pushed aside by the distant sounds of fighting. The smell of blood brought forth an atmosphere of desperation. "I know it's the first test and all, but it sounds remarkably boring. I hope the Regulars in this district aren't TOO weak."

The wind picked up, carrying the scent of death, and the boy began to move. He didn't seem to be in a hurry, even as he chose to make his way to the Regulars nearest his position. After all there probably wouldn't be many, if any at all, who were capable of defeating him. This would be much too easy for someone of his ability.

* * *

After what felt to be hours, Reilan happened upon a group of five Regulars. They all seemed to be human.

"Hey! You!" A messy haired man, likely the leader of their group, pointed at the new arrival. "You look to be capable! Why don't you team up with us? Humans should stick together, don't you think? If we combine our strength, we should be able to take on any enemy!"

Reilan, having initially overlooked the group, decided to chance a look at them. He only needed a moment to observe them, before smiling. "Combining your strength... Isn't that what the weak do to face the strong?" He closed his eyes, ignoring the arguments from the group.

Shinsoo. It was the supernatural energy that flowed through every last part of the entire Tower. It was the very life force of the Tower, it was everything. And it was also nothing, at the same time, an eternal mystery. It was the basis of all energy, and some beings had the ability to manipulate the Shinsoo to perform any number of actions. The possibilities were said to be limitless, when it came to Shinsoo. These people, however, they wouldn't amount to anything. He knew it due to his ability to read Shinsoo. The ones before him were complete novices.

"Listen when we talk to you!" Came an angry growl from one of the shorter members of the group. He was dressed in brown leathers, and armed with a spear that was bigger than he was. Naturally, he was annoyed that the new guy had completely written them off. Who wouldn't be? "Who do you think you are, calling us weak?!"

Reilan blankly looked down at the short boy. "Oh? Did I call you weak?"

The boy glared daggers at the response, though those daggers were dulled as he got a good look at the eyes of the one in front of him. Those bright, practically glowing yellow eyes. His black irises were more like slits, his eyes sharp and narrow like arrows. They looked more like the eyes of a certain predator, than those of a human. "Y-yeah! You know you did!"

"Hm..." Scratching his cheek, Reilan shrugged. "Sorry about that." The group seemed to lose their tension at his apology. "I meant to say that you were pathetic wastes of space."

Before they knew it, the short boy was hurtling through the air, above their heads. All eyes followed him as he crashed down atop a large rock, a horrifying crunching sound breaking their momentary silence. The guy who had insulted them, was no longer where they thought he was. Where he had just been... where he should have been.

"Over here." The back of his hand was held next to the head of a guy with a mohawk.

The other three quickly turned to see their second ally blown back across the ground, bouncing a few times like a ball, before reaching an abrupt stop. He didn't even twitch slightly, in fact, his neck was probably snapped before he even hit the ground. "O-oh shit!"

"What do you know, killing people isn't too hard." Reilan remarked, a smile creeping across his face as the remaining weaklings threw caution to the wind and attacked him. One used his bare hands, the other swung a crappy looking hatchet, and their fool of a leader lashed out with a steel sickle. Rather than dodging or defending, he reacted by countering their offense with his own. Swinging his left hand horizontally, dark green Shinsoo gathered in the mold of a blade, with which he cut through the base of the shoddy hatchet before it could reach him, also severing the hands of the poor soul in the process. Thrusting his right palm into the next, he caught the man by the face, stopping his wild hands short of their target. As for the leader, he received a heavy spartan kick to the chest, just before his sickle could find it's mark.

Finding himself thrown off his feet and tossed about 5 meters away, the leader dropped his sickle and landed with a thump in the dirt, coughing. He managed to sit up just enough, to see the auburn haired psycho's hand become covered in a dark green form, similar to claws, before gripping his hand and literally ripping off the face of the unfortunate bastard. A blood curdling chill shot down his spine at the sight. The first move of the man had killed the shorty faster than anyone could see, much less react to. His second move had released some kind of shockwave, and he'd killed that one without ever touching him directly. The third to fall was still alive, but quickly bleeding out with frightened whimpers after having his arms cut off. The fourth had made him sick to his stomach... All this added up to one fact. This man was a monster. The -not so much of a- leader had seen people die in the past. He'd killed people himself, back at his home in the Outer Tower, on the 9th Floor. But this wasn't simple murder. Unlike his past experiences, this new killer seemed to be enjoying it in earnest. His smile was comparable to that of a child who'd just had their first taste of candy. And it was terrifying. His every instinct screamed at him to run. So he did. Scrambling to his feet, he awkwardly twisted. He probably pulled a muscle from the sudden movement, but his adrenaline saw to it that he didn't feel a thing. Perhaps that was the one thing he could have been grateful for. After all, his death came swiftly, and without any warning.

"So this is what it feels like to take lives. Shinsoo Reinforcement was probably overkill." Reilan lowered his hand, a dark green trail of Shinsoo quickly fading, from the beam he'd fired when the target attempted to flee. The beam had been highly concentrated Shinsoo, and it had blown the guy's head clean off, from the neck. "What an interesting sensation it provides. I can't say I'm regretting my decision to climb, now. I probably shouldn't get too carried away, though. I don't want to end up like those Rankers I hear about, that get off on slaughtering the innocent, weak inhabitants of the Tower. Everything in moderation, I suppose." His attention fell to the one whose hands he'd chopped off. Reilan now felt a bit bad, due to how the man wailed. A Baang formed above his head, firing off a second beam of dark green Shinsoo in an arc, blowing a hole through the last one's torso, and marking the fifth life he'd ever taken.

_Yes, everything in moderation. I shouldn't forget what my game plan was, coming in. Otherwise, things might become a bit troublesome. Besides, now that I've gotten settled in my first taste of delivering death... It's really nothing so special. I'd rather find something special to observe. Lasting satisfaction is better than momentary bliss._

The sound of rustling grass snapped the recently christened and desensitized killer to his senses. He quickly turned to the source of the sound, standing his ground as 2 Baangs formed over his left and right shoulders, crackling with a low whir. He'd decided this time, that he would disable the opponent rather than kill them. As he saw the next person however, he decided not to attack just yet. Because the new arrival was a girl. He didn't deny that he was a cold -arguably cruel- person, but his mother had raised him to treat all women with respect. At least until being pushed off a cliff by one. He had assumed she meant that he should be good to all women until they betrayed him, but his mother WAS eccentric, to say the least, so she very well may have meant exactly what she said. And as it happened, there wasn't a cliff in sight.

"Oh, a person!" The girl was excited upon seeing the man, and hurried to approach him. It was obvious from the casualness with which she carried herself, but she obviously wasn't afraid of anything. As she reached him, she took notice of the dead, though only four were in her line of sight. "Did... you do this?"

"I just got here." Reilan calmly replied, without a hint that he was lying. Then again, he wasn't actually lying, he was just avoiding the question. He really had only just gotten there a short while earlier. He noticed the girl look around at the dead, a frown on her face. This gave him plenty of time to get a good look at her. At a glance, the most noticeable thing about her was her outfit. It seemed to be some kind of uniform, primarily white with black hem at the skirt edge, and the collar of the sailor-like attire. The outfit was completed by a purple ribbon on her chest. The girl's hair was a beautiful dark blue, long and wavy, and ending at her thighs. She had a slender frame, similar to the famous models of the Tower. Reilan's eye for the littlest details allowed him a pretty accurate guessing of her measurements. She was extremely attractive and shapely, and he judged her to be at least a C-cup. Not to mention her lower half was quite the sight as well. His analysis of her body was complete, and he'd already ranked her accordingly, just as he did to every woman he laid eyes on. She was a high grade A-rank beauty, with rare potential for S-rank, depending on three last details. Her eyes, her intelligence, and her ability. Just then, he got a good look at her eyes as she turned her attention to him. They were a beautiful, almost translucent silver, comparable to a full moon in a pitch black sky. Reilan had felt his heart skip a beat upon meeting her gaze, but quickly aimed to complete his observation by reading her flow of Shinsoo. He was surprised to find that her natural flow seemed to... overpower all the Shinsoo around her. It was as if she was somehow rejecting the very Shinsoo that she came in contact with, in favor of filling the space about her body with her own. He'd never seen anything like it, and thus he had no idea what such a thing could mean. But one thing was certain. Her looks were just icing on the cake, when compared to the latent abilities she undoubtedly possessed.

"You've... been silent for a while." The girl nervously pointed out.

Reilan slowly smiled, before letting out an amused chuckle, unaware of the fact that the girl had reacted in surprise. "How interesting~ How VERY interesting~"

The girl tilted her head, confused by the man in front of her. "What are you talking about?"

"You. I'm talking about you." Reilan replied honestly. "You're beautiful. No, more than that, you're simply exquisite..."

"Ah." The girl blinked, taken aback for a moment, before she began to laugh. "Oh please~" She punched her companion in the arm playfully, at least by her standards.

A shock ran from Reilan's arm through his whole body, as he made a violent jolt. It went unnoticed by the girl, who was apparently amused now.

_What. The. Fuck. How could a girl that slender pack such a ridiculous punch? Literally? It seemed like she was just joking around, but I don't think I'd ever felt so much pain from a physical attack in my life! Just how strong IS she?!_

The girl smiled at the boy, rather cutely. "My name is Ashera. Ashera Celeste~"

"R-reilan... Seaworth..." Came the pained croak from the shocked man.

Ashera laughed once again. "That's a weird name!"

"You have a weird name." Reilan blankly replied, quickly stepping back when he noticed her hand move.

"Are you ok?" Ashera asked curiously.

With a deep breath, Reilan shook his arm out, nodding. "Yeah. I'm good."

The mysterious, super strong girl now had a nervous smile on her face. "So, then... where am I, exactly?"

"Isn't it obvious, that you're..." Reilan trailed off upon properly observing her expression.

_I don't like to toot my own horn, but I'm quite good at reading people. This girl... Ashera was serious. She really didn't know where she was? But how can that even be?_

"You seriously don't know?" Reilan asked hesitantly.

Ashera frowned, nodding in embarrassment. "I really don't! After I met the rabbit, I woke up here and saw people start killing each other! And there's lots of weird things too! This is still the Tower, right?!"

"Uh, yeah." He knew the girl obviously had a few screws loosened. He'd heard that sometimes Regulars would end up disoriented after being taken into the Inner Tower by Headon. But he didn't think one would have forgotten everything that should have mattered. "Maybe you have some kind of amnesia... Ok, let's move. I'll tell you what's going on."

Ashera's smile returned to her face as Reilan led the way. "Thank you so much, Mr. Reilan!"

"Yeah, yeah..." Reilan didn't bother looking to ensure that she followed him. He knew that she'd already aroused his interest in her abilities, so for the time being at least, he would keep her close by.

_Who knows? She may end up being more useful than I can imagine. Grandfather would probably do the same. Right? After all, it wouldn't do to lose someone with such unique potential._


	2. 400 - 200: Part 2

**Waves that Change the Tower: Chapter 2**

As the test to drop the 400 Regulars down to 200 unfolded in a bloody fashion, a young swordsman traveled across the grassy plains. He was rather tall, so his head was visible above the tall stalks of yellow and brown. His hair was a short, curly blond, and his skin was lightly tanned brown, so he wasn't too terribly noticeable even with his stature. No matter where he turned, no matter where he went, it seemed that he wouldn't find anyone who shared his beliefs about the way the test should be conducted.

_I had already fully expected this reception, even before entering. For as long as anyone can remember, part of climbing has always been the willingness to crush, and more often than not, kill the ones against you. But... isn't this too much? We've, all of us, just begun our climb. And yet, nobody will even hesitate to kill their opposition._

The man's left hand rested atop the hilt of the katana hanging at his side. The sword seemed to be his only companion as of that moment. He was regretful over how the first test of his climb had begun. Almost immediately, he'd happened upon a creature with a black and brown, spider-like body. He had attempted to convince the, what he'd assumed to be a male, spider to team up so they wouldn't have to fight. However, as the Tower would have it, that was impossible. The spider had been adamant on disabling and devouring the human, who was left with no choice but to put him down.

_And not just the spider. Even the other six I came across were unwilling to be friends. Not that it helps, that the test itself is literally asking everyone to slaughter 200 others. Just as I thought, my line of thinking is... out of line with the rest of the Towers inhabitants. We should be working together as we climb, overcoming any and all challenges with teamwork, and relying on the bonds forged between comrades who have fought side by side for years. But, this is just the way it is. If I want to change anything, I must reach the top. And to do that, I have to continue climbing no matter what..._

"But how long can I climb without taking the lives of those who wish to bring harm to me?" He asked himself this question aloud. He had been skilled enough to defeat his opponents here without slaying them, but the higher he climbed, the less viable such an option would be. From the get go, he'd had a clear goal for when he became a Ranker. He wasn't at all sure about how he would make that goal happen, but he hadn't a doubt in his mind that it was the right thing. The just thing. No matter how hard he might struggle, he would live and climb in a way that would bring honor to his family, and his father. After all, he **was** the son of the great Arie Hon. He was Arie Kasai, and he would certainly live up to, and exceed the standards set by the family.

* * *

"-so, everyone here just wants to climb to the top of the Tower?" The girl with dark blue hair was looking at her auburn haired companion.

"That's right." Replied Reilan Seaworth. He wore a bored expression, as he'd spent the last ten minutes explaining the most simple facet of the Tower to his, seemingly, empty headed associate. Was it so difficult to comprehend that everyone in the Tower was out for themselves? That they'd do whatever it took to reach their **foolish** delusions of grandeur? "Hey. Ashera." The snake-like man stopped walking and turned to her.

Ashera slowed to a stop, turning around to face him. "Is something wrong, Mr. Reilan? Oh! You must be tired of walking, right?! Why don't we take a break, then~?"

"No, that's not what I..." Sighing, he motioned her to relax. They were relatively safe, where they were at that particular moment. _Why does she seem to be so flaky? Yes, it's not like __**everyone**__ can be a genius like me, but isn't this just unnatural? Headon chooses the Regulars and brings them into the Inner Tower to climb. I don't doubt that some floors are quite a ways behind others, and I understand she may have amnesia. But even then, for a Regular to be this clueless, it's just..._

Just then, Reilan had a crazy idea. Then again, given the limited knowledge of the girl, perhaps it wasn't too crazy at all. Either way, he had nothing to lose by clearing up any possible misunderstandings. "You were born in the Tower, right?"

A chill ran down Ashera's spine when she heard the question. It only took her a moment to get over her surprise, before she replied with a smile, "Of course! I was definitely born in the Tower!" Behind her smile, her thoughts raced. _He's definitely going to ask what floor I'm from! What's a good floor to choose? Well, my favorite number is seven, so..._

"Which floor?" As she'd thought, he'd asked the question. "I'm from the 322nd Floor, but I've been to quite a few of the lower floors on vacation with my parents."

_Wow, how many floors are there?_ Doing her best to maintain a confident smile, she responded, "I'm from the 7th Floor! A few years ago though, my parents saved up enough money for a trip to the 203rd Floor!"

"I see." Reilan ran a hand through his hair calmly. "I haven't been to the 203rd Floor. But I have heard quite a few good things about the resort there. Is it true that people can swim with Killer Whales there? I've never even seen one, so it sounded like an exaggeration to me."

The question prompted a more confident smile from Ashera. After all, there were people who swam with Killer Whales where she was from, and they were all fragile humans. In this Tower where she'd already seen many impossible things, how hard would it be for someone to safely swim with a whale? "Yeppers! The line to swim with them was always super long! We got lucky enough to get in though~"

"That's incredible." Reilan replied, with a strangely eager tone. "Just two things. Ashera."

Noticing a smile on his face, Ashera nodded. "What is it?"

"Killer Whales are the strongest Shinheuh in the Tower. According to rumor, only High Rankers can get anywhere near them due to the Shinsoo Density and their hostile nature." Explained Reilan, who waved his finger casually.

Ashera's body jolted, with the reveal of that information. _Why would he think that rumor was true then?! _"R-right... I was just testing you... it's actually a pretty normal resort~ Definitely no Killer Whales there, on the 203rd Floor!"

"Second thing." The dark brown-auburn haired young man crouched ahead of Ashera, leaning in to whisper, "There are only 134 Floors that anyone can reach right now. So... do tell... exactly how you had a vacation on the 203rd Floor that's yet to be conquered, if it even exists~"

The girl was shocked, and it showed clearly on her face. She also found herself blushing when Reilan moved so close to her. On careful observation, he was actually really attractive. But like his snake eyes suggested, he was beyond crafty. "You... you tricked me..."

Reilan nodded, staring at her silver eyes for a moment. "Yes. Yes, I did." With a devious smile, he stood up straight. "I commend you on your fast thinking, even if I **was** leading you on. Most people completely trip up on the little details, but you nailed it pretty well. Since I explained the concept of the Inner Tower to you, you filled in some of the blanks decently. You're a lot smarter than I thought you were." He politely offered the disappointed girl his hand. "So. Where are you really from?"

A sigh left Ashera's throat, as she accepted his hand, standing up with his help. "I'm um... well... I figured I shouldn't tell anyone after what that girl said, but... I'm actually..." She trailed off when she heard rustling in a nearby body of grass.

"Stay behind me, Ashera." Reilan suggested, or rather, ordered, as he took a step in front of the girl.

The one to emerge from the grass was, at a glance, different from everyone else the two had come across. He stood at a good six inches taller than Reilan. The newcomer had quite a toned, muscularly defined body, likely a result of diligent exercises to strengthen himself. His hair was a short, curly blond, his eyes a bold and fierce orange, akin to fire. He had a sort of... youthful glow about him. The thing that drew Reilan's attention though, wasn't his eyes or even the sword at his side. It was the ring on his left hand. It bore the symbol of the sword, the symbol worn by the great Arie Family. And as befitting a child of the Ten Great Families, his Shinsoo abilities were seen to be at quite a decent level, though he was probably the type who preferred reinforcement to manipulation.

* * *

As Kasai entered the small clearing on the plains, he immediately noticed two people. A girl with extremely long, dark blue hair, and silver eyes that were like moonlight. The more he looked at her, the more beautiful she seemed. She must have been a model, with such a figure. Her escort was a male, about an inch taller than her. He had a mature appearance. His long, dark brown hair, which was tied in a ponytail that reached the middle of his back, had an auburn hue. Of course, he probably wouldn't notice if they weren't in such a well lit area. He wasn't muscular, and he didn't look at all like he was the type to rely on brute strength. However, to Kasai's trained eye, he could see that the boy's body was well toned, likely a result of frequent physical exercise to keep himself in good shape. The most noticeable feature of the male, were his bright yellow irises. His eyes with their narrow shape, along with his slit pupils, gave him the appearance of a snake.

_They both seem like they know how to take care of themselves, but... The guy there. Maybe it's just his eyes getting to me. It just feels like there's something dangerous about him. I can't really know for sure, but he's probably much more capable than the lady. Come on, Kasai... You've got to do your best this time! Turn these two into your allies!_

"Do you mind? We were having an important conversation here." The one to break the silence was the snake eyed man. Behind him, the girl seemed to be growing more and more nervous. "Or... do you think being from the Arie Family gives you the right to intrude where you're not wanted?"

Kasai was caught off guard, and it showed in his expression. _How in Zahard did he... Ah, right! My ring!_ Having quickly reminded himself that anyone could tell which family he was from, he spoke with a strong and confident tone, "The lady doesn't seem very comfortable with your conversation, though."

Reilan's head tilted to the side, and he glanced over his shoulder to clear his confusion by looking at the girl. "Hmph. She's fine, why don't you just leave? There's no need for you to play 'Knight in Shining Armor' here. I'm sure there are some other virgins about to be sacrificed, down that way." He extended his left index finger toward a random direction. "Go on then. Off with you."

Observing the girl once again, the swordsman caught an expression that screamed, 'Help me!' At least, that's what he made of it.

"Mr. Reilan..." Said Ashera, timidly, as she felt some hostility. "You shouldn't be so..."

"Wow, are you **still** here?" Yellow eyes let out a sigh, before continuing. "Seriously, just what are you expecting to accomplish by staying here? As you can see, neither of us care to fight right now. We'd really like to continue what we were discussing before you rudely interrupted us." Even as he spoke, he was sizing up the taller man. _What the hell is up with him? It seemed like he wouldn't be a threat at first, but all of a sudden, he looks ready to throw down. I guess it has something to do with Ashera. She's only nervous because I've got her on the ropes. Has he had some idiotic misunderstanding about this situation?_

Arie Kasai took a deep breath as he gripped the hilt of his sword, and exhaled as he removed it from it's sheathe. "Actually, I believe I've intruded at the perfect moment. Step away from her, and I will not have to hurt you." He lifted the katana, holding it in both hands, at a diagonal angle. It's black blade glistened, and he held it as if he were going to strike with the dull side, so the blood red edge was facing him.

"Ugh..." Running a hand through his hair, Reilan made a subtle motion for Ashera to back away. _What a retard._ He thought, in obvious disapproval. _He seems to have some skill, and his sword is... His sword._ A black katana with a blood red edge, no hand guard, and metallic gray bandages covering the hilt. He had seen the weapon before. Somewhere. The blade itself had a unique flow of Shinsoo, unlike any of the weapons he'd seen so far. _That's right! Isn't that sword called Varatosk? I'm pretty sure it's a C-rank sword that belongs to the Arie Family, famous for their swordsmanship, so I guess it isn't too surprising, really. I don't remember the important details, but it has to be an Ignition Weapon. At least, if that Shinsoo flow is anything to go off of. He'll definitely be a tough opponent, that's for sure. Especially since I'd rather not get serious until the Position Test. If only he could read Shinsoo. Then he'd know that he won't be able to defeat me._

Against her better judgment, Ashera had backed off as Reilan wanted. "Hey, you're not really gonna fight with him, right? He seems like a nice person... And... I don't want you to get hurt either..."

Reilan looked back at her, a rather concerning smile on his face. "Hurt? Me? I see, you're under the impression that I'm only smart. Is that it? You don't think I'm strong?"

"W-well, I wouldn't actually say I think you're weak..." Ashera replied hesitantly. Even as she'd spoke, she knew she could have phrased it about 100 different ways to be less offensive.

"Now, that just won't do." Turning his back to Ashera, the snake licked his lips, meeting the gaze of his challenger. "I'll have to show you how wrong you are, you stupid girl. After all I'm actually the **strongest** Regular around here.

Kasai observed his opponent carefully, his attention having been caught by what he'd said. _He believes he's the strongest Regular here right now? Of 400? I know I felt something strange about him, but... Is there a reason for his confidence? Or is it just baseless arrogance? I'll find out for myself. After all, it isn't like I'm weak myself._ "Here I come!"

"You shouldn't tell someone when you're gonna attack them." Reilan suggested, lifting his hand casually. A dark green Baang formed in his palm, and fired off a Shinsoo beam in the same moment it was made.

_He's skilled with Shinsoo!?_ Thought Kasai, as he evaded to the left, just in time. As he landed, he immediately prepared himself to advance. After all, even if this man was strong with Shinsoo, the fight was as good as over if it was brought up close.

With a smile, Reilan kept his eyes on Kasai, another Baang forming and firing in the same instant, before the Arie could react. Or, so he thought. With a swift spin, he lifted his Shinsoo reinforced right arm, defending against a downward swing from the swordsman.

Kasai noticed the smile fade from the snake's face, as he was pushed back. "I'm impressed you managed to react..."

_That's what I get for taking him lightly. No more of that. This guy is really fast. Much faster than I would have thought. Really can't judge books by their covers._ Reilan rubbed his arm in thought, thankful that his assailant had used the back of his sword for some reason. "I should have seen this coming. I thought you were dumb, but... You **are** an Arie. Honor in battle, and all that nonsense."

"It isn't nonsense." Responded Kasai, offended, if his tone was anything to go off of.

_As I should have expected, he's nothing like the others I've had to face. He can attack with Shinsoo the same moment he makes the Baang. Isn't that a very high level skill? There's no way any random person could have that level of mastery on the 2nd Floor, right? He has to be from one of the Great Families as well. I wonder which one... Maybe the Eurasia Family? I hear their Contract gives everyone in the family incredible control over Shinsoo. But why does he hide it, if that's the case? Was he, perhaps, excommunicated?_

"Ok... I'll untie just one hand, to deal with you." Reilan decided, taking a defensive martial arts stance, as 2 Baangs formed over his head.

"Two?" Kasai charged straight in, as two Shinsoo beams fired at him. The first was split in half with a simple swing of the sword, and he handled the second with a Shinsoo reinforced punch to deflect it off to the side.

The sight of his attacks being handled seemed to make Reilan somewhat happy, if his smile said anything. As the sword flew toward him, he thrust his left palm out to push Kasai's hand aside and change the trajectory of his swing. Stepping forward, Reilan delivered a solid elbow strike with his right hand, to the swordsman's ribs. He'd kept his left hand against the lead hand on the hilt, gripping it and spinning into his step with intent to throw.

Quickly determining what would come next, Kasai jumped from the ground just before he was thrown, giving him enough time to twist and throw a kick, which connected cleanly with the back of his opponent's head. Having been released with that action, he backed off, rolling his arm around his shoulder as Reilan nearly fell over. "That wasn't bad! I didn't realize you could also fight up close!"

"I'm amazing at everything." Reilan replied with a rather arrogant tone, lifting his left hand to draw the swordsman's attention to the sword he'd been holding until a moment ago. "I took that kick, because I was aiming for this~ You were so concerned with being thrown, that you didn't pay attention to your prized sword."

_No freaking way! He's got quick hands! How shameful for a swordsman to let his sword be taken!_

Ashera had observed the exchange, surprised at the outcome, which led her to clap in excitement. "Wow, I was wrong! You're not weak at all, Mr. Reilan!"

"I... waited until you were ready, before I attacked you." Kasai noted, in hopes that the fact would sway the snake. "You'll acknowledge that and return the favor, won't you?" With a smile, he extended his hand expectantly.

A smile stretched across the face of the yellow eyed boy. One of pure evil, which would be expected from a sadistic last boss in a video game. "No, I don't think I will~"

Kasai's smile faded, as 4 Baangs formed this time, over his head. "F-four!? Are you kidding me!?"

"But well, I'm not a total ass." Claimed Reilan, with a shrug. "You have thirteen seconds left to live~ Don't worry, I'll take **very** good care of your sword. If you were smart, you'd have Ignited it right away."

"Wait, you can't!" Ashera ran over, standing in between Reilan and Kasai. "Why would you want to kill him?"

Tilting his head, Reilan watched Ashera. "You know, I can finish him even while you're standing there. And if you don't move, I won't kill you as well."

"I'll definitely move!" Yelled Ashera, stubbornly. "I'll move as much as I can!"

_What? I get that she's trying to protect me... bless her soul, but... does she mean she'll kill herself doing it? Wait, could it be that I... jumped the gun again? She's obviously not afraid of that thieving garden snake at all. Crap, is it too late to apologize? Either way, I must keep her safe!_

"You can't seriously be planning to harm an innocent woman!" Kasai pointed at Reilan as he spoke. "That would be beyond low! Even you couldn't possibly be so vile!"

The words made Reilan twitch. "That's funny, coming from a dumbass who completely misread the situation, started a fight he couldn't win, and is right about to die for his silly mistake. You and your family preach about justice, right, wrong, order, and all that lame bullshit. Let me teach you something about life, kid. Those with power, are the ones who determine what's just. I'm stronger than you are, and as proof, I beat you. In other words, my **every** action is right, and just!"

_That's some twisted logic!_ Thought the two in the blasting range of the snake.

"So, Ashera." Pointing aside, Reilan continued. "Get out of the way."

"Mr. Reilan, you..." Just then, Ashera had a rare moment of brilliance. "Just a little while ago, you told me that you thought I was beautiful. And you're really curious about where I'm from, right? If you were serious, then that means you wouldn't kill me anyway. That's why you're trying so hard to make me move. So if I don't move, you won't attack and risk it!"

Reilan's jaw dropped at that point. He was honestly shocked that the girl was able to come to that decision on her own.

"I must apologize..." Scratching his head, Kasai found himself blushing in embarrassment. "I assumed the worst when I arrived, and completely misunderstood what was going on between you two..."

"No shit, Sherlock!" Snapped an angry Reilan.

Kasai hung his head in shame. "I didn't realize the truth. Ms. Ashera, was it? You must have been asking her on a date, Mr. Reilan! That's why you were so defensive when I showed up! You had finally worked up the courage to confess, and feared that I was a threat! But please, worry not! I am no obstacle to your love!"

Covering her mouth, Ashera stared at Reilan. "I-is that how it is?"

"I... honestly don't even know where to begin..." Reilan scratched his head, not bothering to hide how annoyed he was, as the 4 Baangs faded. "How the fuck did you even get to that conclusion? Both of you."

Ashera's hands moved to her cheeks as she turned red. "You were trying to impress me by fighting Mr. Swordsman... I didn't even realize... I mean, we just met less than an hour ago, so..."

"It's official." Rubbing his head, which had begun to hurt, Reilan looked to the two. "You're idiots. Both of you. Brats who can't even comprehend their own stupidity... And just when I thought you were showing some promise there..."

Kasai shook his head, giving Reilan a thumbs up. "Seriously, I'll even help you two with your relationship! It seems you have a lot of work to do, after all!"

"I don't really know how I feel about you. I mean, how could I? I've never even had a boyfriend, because guys always said I was too spacey..." Admitted Ashera, her embarrassment seeming to increase.

With a sigh, Reilan rubbed his temples. "Those boys were spot on about you. I respect that they saved themselves the trouble of having to be around you for an extended period of time. I'm starting I'd wish I'd done the same."

"Hey, it's dangerous to do that while carrying a weapon." Kasai and Ashera both pointed out.

Next thing they knew, Ashera had to dive out of the way to avoid being hit by Varatosk when it was thrown by Reilan. "W-what was that for!?"

"Hm?" Kasai had caught his sword, then turned his attention to Reilan.

"I don't even feel like fighting anymore." Claimed Reilan, who waved the swordsman off rather rudely. "Please go away, and never show yourselves to me again..."

* * *

The sound of a loud buzzer went off, quickly catching the attention of the remaining Regulars.

The voice from before, was emitted from the Lighthouse once again. "Everyone, please stop what you're doing and listen! The first round of the test has concluded! Anyone continuing to fight will be immediately disqualified!" He paused for a few seconds, before continuing, "Congratulations to the 200 Regulars who have passed the first part of the test! It's a bit soon, but let's immediately begin the second round of the test!"

"We're continuing already?" Kasai returned his sword to it's scabbard.

With another sigh, Reilan shook his head. "I can't believe how exhausted I am from that already..."

"Well, you did just fight... um... Mr..." Ashera looked up at the Arie inquisitively.

"Ah, my name is Kasai. Arie Kasai." He took a polite bow. "It's nice to meet you."

Ashera smiled at him in a rather friendly manner. "Nice to meet you, too! I'm Ashera Celeste!"

Reilan turned his back on the two, who had mysteriously seemed to have bonded already. "I'm not physically tired from fighting, I'm mentally worn out from having to deal with, possibly, the two dumbest people I've ever met."

Before either of the two had the chance to respond, the Ranker spoke again. "There's no need to worry, as it's an exceedingly simple test! You now have exactly five minutes to make two of the 200 Regulars here, into your buddy! In other words, each of you must form teams of three within the allotted time! You must be in contact with your teammates when the clock has stopped ticking! Anyone who can't make a team in five minutes is disqualified! Now then, everyone... good luck!"

"Another stupid test..." Muttered Reilan, in despair, as he turned back around to face the two who had managed to cause more pain to him than anyone had in years, simply by being themselves.

"So, what were you saying about the two dumbest people you've ever met?" Kasai crossed his arms with a smile. "I suppose you'll be trying your luck to find two other teammates? But this place is just so big... I wish you luck in managing to locate anyone else in just five minutes!"

With a laugh, Ashera grabbed Reilan's and Kasai's arms. "What are you saying? We already have a group of three right here! It must be fate, for us to have met here!"

Clicking his tongue loudly, Reilan mentally resigned himself to this supposed fate. He had the frightening notion that he would never be able to get rid of the two for as long as he lived. "I guess I'd better try to get used to you fools." He shot an annoyed glare at Kasai. "I'm Reilan Seaworth. If you ever say something as stupid as me being in love with this." He stopped to point at Ashera, who smiled nervously. "I'll kill you. Seriously. Her looks definitely aren't worth the mental toll being around her would take."

Ashera found herself frowning at the last part. "I'm right here!"

"It's cute that you think I care." The annoyed snake responded coldly.

"Hey, you never know what might happen!" Kasai dropped his arms onto the shoulders of the his two teammates. "You may end up growing to like how strange Ms. Ashera is! And we might even end up being best friends!"

Sighing for the umpteenth time, Reilan closed his eyes. "I must be a Guide, because I know for sure that neither of those things will **ever** come to pass."

"By the way, you said Seaworth..." The blond mentioned. "That's just an alias, right? Could you be from the Eurasia Family?"

Reilan's eyes remained shut as he replied, "Are you kidding me? If I were from one of the Great Families, don't you think I'd be flaunting that like you do?"

With the way Reilan had said it, Kasai didn't know how to respond, and decided to stay quiet.

"Guide? Great Families?" Whispered Ashera to Reilan. "What are those?"

"I'll tell you later..." Reilan opened his eyes to look at her. "As long as you don't annoy me for a little while."

The buzzer went off for the final time, signaling the expected voice. "The second round has ended! Everyone who has made a team, please stay in contact!" A short pause, and then, "As of this moment, every group of three in contact has been recognized as a team! You will now be transported to the next test location!"

_It was unexpected, to say the least, but the test ended without too much trouble. Or rather, Ms. Ashera and I weren't really troubled in the end. Mr. Reilan seems to truly loathe the fact that he had to team up with us to continue climbing. He's quite a difficult person to understand. He really is. And he's obviously hiding which Family he's with. Perhaps the Bloodmadder Family? It would explain why he'd not want to advertise his family. But, I did get the feeling that maybe... he wasn't quite as horrible as he came off. Who knows? Perhaps we'll grow on him._


	3. A Test of Worthiness

**Waves that Change the Tower: Chapter 3**

_The sound of voices brought a dark blue haired girl to her senses. Her silver eyes opened, immediately taking in the sight of a dimly lit chamber. The walls of the area were covered in strange engravings, each seeming to depict some sort of event. She sat up while rubbing her eyes sluggishly, noticing the two whom the voices belonged to. A short man, and a woman. Were they arguing over some topic? Yes, they both appeared to be quite worked up._

"_This is a new experience, even for me~" This new voice came from a creature standing off to the side. "It has been so long since anyone opened the door themselves, and now I've gotten to meet two subsequently? Welcome to the Tower, young lady. The place where all your dreams come to life."_

_The sound of the creature's voice got the attention of the two who had been arguing, and served to end their chatter immediately. The two turned to look at the one who had been addressed, expressions of surprise on the face of each. "Another one...?"_

"_What's going on?" The girl wondered aloud, her attention falling upon the one who initially spoke to her. He... **it **was a very strange sight, to be sure. The creature stood on two legs, and wore strange clothing, but it had long white ears. Rabbit ears. "A... talking rabbit?"_

"_My name is Headon." The rabbit announced rather casually. A golden staff with two bluish green balls on the ends, was twirling through it's hands. However, it wasn't actually touching the staff at all. "Guardian of the lowest floor of the Tower. Young lady, may I ask your name?"_

_The girl was already on her feet, absent any sluggish tendencies. "A rabbit! A talking rabbit, that stands on two legs! Awwww, you're so cute! Where are your eyes, though?"_

"_Cute? She thinks Headon is cute?" The woman blinked at the girl in disbelief._

_Her short companion observed the new girl with interest. "She must be even crazier than the boy, to think that Headon-nim is... cute."_

Huh? What did those two say? I don't think I've ever heard a weird language like that before.

_Headon extended a hand, a spherical object forming within his three fingers. "Young lady, please take this. Otherwise, you'll have quite a difficult time of things here." He didn't seem to mind the fact that the girl had begun to touch his ears._

"_Oh, okay!" The girl took the item without hesitation, and a strange sensation came over her. It was as if the knowledge of, literally, thousands of languages had immediately been implanted into her mind. Thankfully, it wasn't uncomfortable, so she pat the rabbit on the head. "Thank you! Ah, right, my name is Ashera Celeste. Nice to meet you, Mr. Rabbit!"_

"_My name is Headon." The rabbit responded, with an upward gaze. "That is quite a strange name. Not very tasty, is it?"_

"_Tasty?" Ashera tilted her head. "No, I guess not. My parents call me Ash for short, but as far as I know, ashes don't taste very good at all."_

_The woman standing with the short man felt her eyebrow twitching, as she observed the Guardian and the Irregular girl. "So you **did** have pockets to give... Are you sexist or something? Yeah, that must be it. Hey, Evan. Did you have any idea that Headon favored girls over boys?"_

"_Well, no I didn't, Lady Yuri. This is news to me as well." The short Evan responded. He had felt a bit nervous even while replying, as he could sense the rabbit becoming slightly annoyed._

_Headon's staff tapped the floor, producing a loud noise. "If the two nuisances could kindly keep their mouths closed for the time being, it would be much appreciated."_

_A smile appeared on Yuri's face, as she didn't bother to hide her amusement. "Oh? Are you angry?" The Guardian had made things difficult for her just a short moment ago, thus she would be sure to enjoy any situation in which she could possibly complicate things for him._

_Ashera's attention went from Headon, to the two additional presences. The man had short silver hair, to match his stature. He was wearing a green jacket with multiple pockets, and simple black pants that covered the lower half of his body. The woman had long black hair, tied in a ponytail with a red ornament. She wore a long-sleeved white jacket, open at the top to show a black shirt and a red tie, which was adorned with three red eyes and three dots beneath. With a red skirt below the jacket, the woman's legs were covered in black leggings. It seemed like she dressed to match her red eyes._

Wow, she's really pretty! And she looks so cool! I wonder if I could be as attractive as she is, one day...

"_Ashera was it?" Yuri stepped forward, extending a hand to the girl in a friendly manner. "I'm Yuri. Ha Yuri Zahard."_

"_It's nice to meet you, Ms. Yuri!" Eagerly shaking her hand, Ashera gave a pleasant smile._

_Yuri couldn't help but smile as she shook hands with the girl. "You've got a good grip, don't you? You're pretty damn cute after all!"_

"_Cute?" Ashera shook her head in disagreement. "No, I'm not cute, but I think that you're **really** beautiful!"_

_The smile on the red eyed girls lips stretched with the comment. "I like you! Hey, Evan! Introduce yourself!"_

"_Very well." Evan made his way over, looking up at the girl. "I am Evan Edrok. It's a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Ashera. Lady Yuri and I are both Rankers of the Tower. As for that item you were just given, it's called a Pocket."_

_Ashera's eyes fell to the sphere that was now floating at her side. "A Pocket?"_

_Yuri laughed as Ashera touched her the pocket of her skirt. "Not that kind of pocket!"_

"_The Pocket is one of the most important items of the Tower." Explained Evan, with a polite smile. "As long as you have it, it'll pretty much translate all of the languages of the Tower, effectively allowing you to communicate with anyone. There are other features, like being able to keep track of time. If you say 'Invisible Mode', the Pocket will become invisible. And saying 'Visible Mode', will return it to normal."_

"_Um... Invisible Mode!" The silver eyed girl watched in amusement as the Pocket disappeared. "Visible Mode!" She clapped cheerfully, as it came back into sight._

_Yuri watched for a few moments, while Ashera continuously switched her Pocket from visible to invisible, and then turned her gaze to Headon. "Hey. You aren't planning to give her the same test, are you?"_

"_I wonder." Headon vaguely replied, his fingers brushing against, what seemed to be, his chin._

"_Hmph." The pushy woman's eyes went back to Ashera. "Hey, Ashera, you want to climb the Tower, right?"_

_Ashera looked over with a curious expression. "What exactly is this Tower? And what's a... Ranker?"_

_Evan nodded in acceptance, as the questions were perfectly natural given the situation. She was the second Irregular, one who had opened the door to the Tower, that he'd met that day. Unlike the one before her, though, this girl seemed to have a certain... special something. As Headon seemed not to have any desire to explain at that moment, he spoke up. "Put simply, the Tower is a place where people climb floors one at a time, taking tests in effort to reach the top. Those who have reached the top are called Rankers. It is said that anything you want can be found at the top. Headon-nim chooses who enters the Tower, and they are referred to as Regulars. Those who aren't chosen, like you, instead open the door to the Tower on their own. They're referred to as Irregulars. In the past, every Irregular who has entered the Tower has displayed an incredible power unlike any other. They've been sources of great change and chaos within the Tower, and due to the actions of certain Irregulars, they've become a symbol of fear in our world."_

"_So, I'm an Irregular?" The girl ran a hand through her hair, as she tried to make sense of the situation. "And I got here by opening a door? Well, okay, I guess that doesn't really matter. I was supposed to go to my friend's birthday party tomorrow. I'm interested in this Tower, but what's the fastest way to leave? It'd be cool to come back another time~"_

"_Leave?" Yuri and Evan looked at one another, both having been reminded of a certain Irregular they were quite familiar with._

_The staff floating around the rabbit, tapped the ground once again, drawing attention to him. "As Evan said, everything exists at the top. Even this 'way to leave', which you desire."_

"_I see..." The Irregular girl turned her eyes to the ceiling. "Then I don't have any choice but to climb to the top? So, how do I get to the next floor?"_

_A smile returned to Yuri's face. "That's the spirit!"_

_Headon now gripped his staff, pointing to a large area filled with a bright blue substance, quite similar to water. "If you wish to climb to the next floor, you simply have to pop that ball."_

"_Ball?" Ashera followed the line of sight from Headon's staff, finally taking notice of the room._

Is that a tank? It's really, really big. The water isn't spilling out though? Well, I guess that's easy enough. I'm a pretty strong swimmer!

"_So all I have to do is swim in there to pop the ball?" The newcomer asked, for clarification._

_Without replying Headon turned his head toward the tank, just as a massive figure passed by the entrance to the tank._

_The sight of the creature brought out a gasp from Ashera. "W-what is that thing?"_

"_It's called a White Steel Eel. It's one of the more dangerous things in the Tower." Yuri responded, looking over to Evan. "Hey, Evan, what do you think of Ashera? Personally, I feel like she'll be able to pass the test with ease. Because she's a strong girl."_

_Evan observed Ashera once again, as Headon explained the test to her. "Well, she's certainly different. Ms. Ashera possesses considerable inner strength. Outer too, if my Lady says so. There's something very odd about the way Shinsoo acts around her. I'd have a better idea of her capabilities if I could see her in action. But, unlike Baam before her, I also feel that she has a good chance of passing this test as she is."_

"_I knew it. She shows a lot more promise than Baam did from the start, huh?" Crossing her arms, Yuri nodded to herself. "Depending on how she does, I think I'll take her on as my little sister~" _

"_Bomb?" Ashera's attention was caught by the two as they spoke. "A bomb was here before me? Wow, the Tower's such a mysterious place... even bombs can take tests. I didn't know that was possible!"_

_An amused laugh escaped Evan's throat. "Not a bomb, his name was Baam. He went up to the 2nd Floor, right before you arrived here."_

"_Really?" Hearing that was apparently enough for the girl to reach a decision. "Alright! I can do it too then! I just have to go in, get to the ball somehow, and pop it! Right?"_

_Yuri watched Ashera with an excited expression. "Yeah! Easy, right?! Go show us what you can do! Girl power!"_

"_Girl power!" With an energetic pump of her fist, Ashera charged into the tank._

"_Wait a second... what if she can't pop the ball without a weapon?" Evan pointed out with concern._

_A grin formed on Headon's mouth, as Yuri shot a sharp glare his way. "Why don't we wait and see? Princess Yuri."_

_Upon approaching the monster, Ashera could see that the main part of the eel's body was covered in some sort of armor. _So it's literally covered in steel? How weird... It isn't cute like Mr. Headon, but it does look kinda cool._ The White Steel Eel was even bigger up close, than she'd previously thought when she first laid eyes on it. Normally, Ashera would have been quite scared to challenge such a creature. However, the knowledge that someone weaker than her could do it, coupled with the encouraging words of the beautiful tomboy, were all she needed to hold the belief that she could do this. After all, her personality made her rather impressionable by nature. Not to mention that the Taekwondo classes she'd been taking had been a major confidence booster for the simple girl._

I just have to get past Mr. Eel and pop the ball. Even Ms. Yuri thinks I can do it, so I will!

_This particular Eel was already in a bad mood. It had been tricked out of a meal, and it's tongue had been stabbed. As it noticed the girl who had just entered, it decided to go for the kill immediately, perhaps to save face. And so it moved. It's body launched forward through the dense Shinsoo with remarkable ease, just as any of it's kind would. The speed it reached almost instantly, was something that should have been considered award winning, rage fueling the forward charge. It's mouth was already open, and it was going to devour the girl without leaving any chance to react. Well, that should have been how it went._

_Waiting until the last second, Ashera lunged forward, jumping off to her right. Her action had been just quick enough to avoid being eaten by the Eel right off the bat. The moment her feet touched the ground, she immediately jumped once again, this time delivering an impressive, graceful jump spinning hook kick. When her heel connected with the side of the Eel's head, she realized there was a lot less resistance on impact than she thought there would be._

_In contrast to the verbal expressions of shock from Yuri and Evan, Headon's mouth remained in a silent smirk. Even as the White Steel Eel was blown an incredible distance through the tank, and into the outer edges of the area._

"_Whoa! What a kick!" Yuri found herself clapping, as she watched the girl hurry toward the ball. The Eel probably wasn't too badly injured, but the fact that she'd managed to fling it aside such a great distance with a normal kick, was definitely something to marvel at._

_Evan's eyes unblinkingly followed Ashera as she ran to the ball. "What in the name of Zahard... Rather than just hitting the White Steel Eel, it was more like she kicked the Shinsoo away instead..."_

_That piqued the interest of the Princess. "What do you mean she **kicked** the Shinsoo away? Is something like that possible? I can't imagine something like that being so easy to do."_

"_It would seem to be, for an Irregular like Ms. Ashera..." Responded Evan, who pointed Yuri back to the tank. Just in time for them to see the girl punch the ball, which seemed to pop rather easily. "That strength you mentioned probably played a big role, too. I doubt she even knows what she just did, though." A glance was spared to the Eel, which was having trouble in recovering. It was surprising that the ball popped so simply, but perhaps the Princess was correct in thinking Headon to be sexist._

_Ashera turned toward the entrance to the tank, happily waving at Yuri, Evan and Headon. "I did it! Ms. Yuri, I did it!"_

"_I sincerely welcome you to the Tower, young lady~" Headon muttered, amused at what he'd seen._

"_Hahahaha! Now doesn't that fit the bill for an Irregular?" Yuri waved back as the Irregular vanished in a flash of bright light. "Hey, Headon? She ended up in the same place as Baam, right?"_

_Holding his staff with both hands now, Headon calmly responded, "She has gone ahead, to the place where all who climb the Tower end up."_

_Evan already knew what his lady was thinking, even before she could say it. "You want to go to the 2nd Floor, don't you...?"_

"_You shouldn't ask questions if you already know the answer!" Exclaimed the cheerful Princess. "Let's go! We've got two reasons to visit the 2nd Floor now!"_

"_You mean ** you** have two reasons to go there." Muttered Evan, who was promptly struck._

* * *

The room was quite spacious, easily able to fit all the teams of Regulars who had passed the first test of the floor. The high walls of gray were fitted with multiple windows, all toward the top, and all the light seemed to be funneling in from transparent ceiling panels. At the side farthest from the majority of the Regulars, was a large brown stage, a door on each side. The number of Regulars seemed to be the better part of 100. The teams of three were all as varied as the individual Regulars themselves seemed to be.

"Whoa! There are so many!" Ashera remarked, curiously examining them all.

Kasai stood by Ashera, hands on his hips as he scanned the competition. "Indeed, it's quite a sight! Don't you think so, Mr. Reilan?"

Leaning against one of the walls, Reilan let out a sigh. "I thought I asked you to leave me alone... All I wanted was a few minutes in which you two would cease your endless yapping. I should've known better than to think such a thing was possible."

"Don't be such a stick in the mud, Mr. Reilan!" Grabbing his arm, Ashera pointed across the crowd to a creature that towered above most of the others. "I mean, look at that! I've never seen a dinosaur before! Have you~?"

"Dinosaur?" Reilan looked up to see the creature, dressed primarily in red and black. "Ah, that's... not a dinosaur. It's an alligator, I think they're called Wraithraisers, or something like that. Pretty sure they're a predator species, though."

A smile appeared on Ashera's face, detailing her amazement for the snake's knowledge. "Mr. Reilan, you're super smart! You know everything!"

Even Reilan found that he was flattered at that point, his expression softening ever so slightly. "Yeah, well. Such a thing should be obvious by now."

"Hm, I'd actually say that you know far too much to be a normal Regular." Kasai suggested, with a glance to his companion. "I'm really curious, about how you know things that even children of the 10 Great Families aren't commonly aware of."

Closing his eyes, Reilan blankly responded, "I'm sure you are." He didn't look, as he reached out to grab the strange girl's hair.

"Ouch!" Ashera yelped, being kept in place as her hair was tugged on. "W-what are you doing!?"

"I just told you that they're a predatory race, and yet you want to go over there to... do what exactly?" With a deep breath of Shinsoo, Reilan shook his head.

Rubbing her hair as it was released, Ashera frowned at the yellow eyed man. "That's really mean! How would you like it if I pulled on **your** hair?"

The question brought a smile to Reilan's lips. "Well, first of all, I'd strengthen my hair with Shinsoo. Even your freakish strength wouldn't be very effective. Second, I'd probably kill you for touching my hair."

_Is he serious? He'd kill me for pulling on his hair, even though he just did it to me?_

Both Kasai and Ashera felt a chill run through their spines, as they stared at Reilan, surprised. They honestly couldn't tell whether or not he was serious. Though after the events that had already transpired, Kasai didn't at all doubt the truth in his words.

"Hm? You took that seriously? I was joking, of course." Claimed Reilan, without any visible sign of playfulness. "If I didn't kill you for shielding Kasai, why would I kill you for such a trivial reason? I'll admit, I am attached to my hair, but I wouldn't go that far." He paused to touch his own hair contemplatively. "I would just remove a finger. Or two."

"That's horrible!" Kasai remarked, holding a hand out in front of Ashera, who turned a bit pale.

Reilan let out a chuckle, which baffled his teammates. "You two could both do with learning to tell when someone's joking."

_That was **not** a joke! He sounded way too serious, for that to have been a joke!_

"More importantly..." Reilan brought his teams attention to an altercation taking place a good ways from them.

"Huh? Are those people there going to fight here?" Ashera asked in confusion. "Wasn't it that fighting without permission is grounds for disqualification?"

Kasai crossed his arms, nodding to the girl. "That's right. I'm sure they'll be stopped soon, though."

"He's here." Reilan announced, observing the tall blond man who was now approaching the bickering Regulars. He was even taller than Kasai was, and there were dots on his cheeks. The flow of Shinsoo around the man was actually quite impressive, even when compared to some of the Rankers of his own family. "The Ranker... I was wrong, he's quite an incredible one..."

"What are you talking about?" Asked Kasai, curiously. "All Rankers are incredible monsters."

Shaking his head, Reilan started toward the Ranker, leaving the two to follow behind him. "Well certainly, all Rankers are monsters in comparison to a 2nd Floor Regular, but there are classifications for even monsters, you know. Or do you think that any old Ranker could beat your father?"

"Ah." Scratching his head, Kasai laughed nervously. "I see what you mean..."

_So that man is an amazing person, just like Ms. Yuri and Mr. Evan? Then it's just like Mr. Reilan said. Rankers are beyond our imagination. I wonder if any Irregulars like me became Rankers. If so, would they be way stronger than other Rankers?_

* * *

The ones at the heart of the conflict were a boy of average height, and one that was almost a head taller. The shorter one was quite pale, with black eyes and hair. He also had a red horn protruding from the back on his head, just above the neck. It seemed he was a swordsman. The taller one was tan of skin, with red hair and eyes. He carried a long sickle-like weapon, and his right arm was bandaged above the elbow. As for below, well... there wasn't anything. As everyone around had been able to gather, the black haired boy had cut off the red head's arm. Red head was beyond pissed, and understandably so. Who wouldn't be raging after losing their arm to what was claimed to be a sneak attack?

_I guess there would be cases like this... After all, it wasn't even 30 minutes ago, when all these people were trying to kill one another. Is it going to be like this everywhere in the Tower? It's really sad that we have to hurt others to get what we want. Mr. Kasai agrees, if his expression says anything. But Mr. Reilan is... smiling. I really don't understand him at all._

The current smile on Reilan's face had appeared after he heard the black haired boy comment that the red head was weak, and would have ended up that way even without a sneak attack. It was entertaining to him, to say the least.

"As I recall, the announcement was that there was to be no fighting during the break." With a loud, clear voice, the Ranker made himself known to the Regulars. He smiled calmly, as the eyes of all the Regulars close by fell on him. "Did it sound like I was joking, chosen Regulars?"

"Huh." With a nudge to Reilan's ribs, Kasai whispered, "Maybe he's as bad with jokes as you are?"

Reilan pushed Kasai toward Ashera, before responding, "I bet you think the 'six/seven' joke is funny."

Looking around Kasai, Ashera smiled. "What's the 'six/seven' joke?"

"Well..." Kasai scratched his head, deciding to tell her. "Why was six afraid of seven?"

"I dunno..." Replied Ashera, as the red head foolishly decided to threaten the blond Ranker.

With a chuckle, Kasai crossed his arms proudly. "Because seven, eight, nine!"

The snake-like man once again shook his head, as the weird girl, and the stupid Arie laughed together. "I think you two might have been made for each other. United in your common stupidity."

"I am your Test Administrator, Lero-Ro." Came a response from the Ranker, after being openly referred to as a nerdy little prick.

"Test... Administrator...?" Red head was now being held back by one of his teammates, a four eyed chicken man. "Then, you're a... Ra... Ranker?"

Lero-Ro cordially responded, "Correct. I am a Ranker of the Tower."

With a whistle, Kasai watched the red head make a final threat to the black haired boy, before walking away. "Wow, settled just like that."

_That guy just now was so angry a moment ago. Mr. Lero-Ro didn't even need to say much at all, to make him stop. I wonder how powerful Mr. Reilan is, in comparison to a Ranker. He did claim that he's the strongest Regular on this floor. Does that mean he would have been able to beat that big Eel thingy on the 1st Floor?_

"What a rowdy bunch they are." With an amused laugh, the Admin made his way toward the stage in between the two doors of the room.

* * *

Lero-Ro cleared his throat, before speaking loudly enough to be heard by everyone in the room this time. "Regulars, please come closer and listen! I will explain the next test to you shortly! Before that, a short introduction of myself! I am a Test Administrator of the 2nd Floor. The Ranker, Lero-Ro!" He paused a short moment, to show the Regulars a... sweet smile. "Please take care of me!"

Ashera tilted her head, looking to her teammates, who were both wearing expressions of minor disgust, along with all the other males. Like her, the female Regulars didn't seem to detect anything wrong. _Is it bad for men to smile at each other like that? How curious..._

"Now then! It seems you've all had enough time to rest, so let's immediately jump into the next test!" The Test Administrator held his arms open as he spoke. "It's just a small, simple test, but please don't forget. If you can't pass this little test, then it's the end of the line for you!"

"He certainly treats the situation lightly." Kasai commented, scratching his cheek with a slight smile.

"But don't get so worked up, I promise you, it's a very simple test!" Claimed Lero-Ro, as he motioned everyone to approach. "Here, here~ Please, come closer!" He waited until everyone had gathered together directly in front of the stage. "Now then..." With a flick of his wrist, Regulars were pushed back, most being completely knocked off of their feet.

Having been watching the Ranker, Ashera turned, surprised to see that everyone had been blown away. The main source of her surprise, was that she'd merely felt a light amount of pressure rush past her inconsequentially.

_Even Mr. Reilan was pushed back?! Wait, why didn't I get moved? If Mr. Kasai and Mr. Reilan got pushed back, then I should have too... Today just gets stranger and stranger, doesn't it?_

"Whoa!" Amazed by how suddenly they had been forced back, Kasai looked from the newly produced blue wall, to Reilan, who had somehow landed before him despite being pushed back at the same time. "That was Shinsoo, right?"

"Yep." Reilan replied with severe disinterest. In fact, of all the Regulars pushed, he was the only one not even slightly bothered by it.

As Lero-Ro explained the nature of Shinsoo and it's importance in the Tower, Kasai looked to his right, and then elsewhere. "Mr. Reilan... where is Ms. Ashera?"

Wordlessly, Reilan lifted a finger to point out their female associate. He didn't really need to hear the explanation, to know that the Regulars simply had to traverse the Shinsoo wall to pass the test.

"Huh? How is she still there? She didn't even get pushed?!" Kasai exclaimed, unable to believe what he was seeing.

"She's not the only one." Reilan softly admitted, eyes now fixed on a boy with short, dark brown hair. Neither Ashera nor the boy had been so much as budged. Of course, as Reilan saw, their circumstances were different. In Ashera's case, the wall of Shinsoo had warped in a small space about her body, to completely avoid her before returning to normal afterwards. The boy however, literally withstood the Shinsoo. In fact, he probably didn't even feel anything when the wall had hit him. He could safely write Ashera's circumstance off with her status as an Irregular, but what of the boy? How is it that he withstood Shinsoo that dense without effort? Even with the ability to read the flow of Shinsoo, there was nothing special to that boy. Not like it was with Ashera. But then, did that make the boy more special than her?

"Everyone, do you know what the most important factor in climbing the Tower is?" This question was offered after multiple Regulars had complained over the test, and how unfair it was that one teammate being unable to pass through the wall of Shinsoo would result in the entire team failing. After a short pause, Lero-Ro continued. "Luck. Luck that allowed you to be born with a strong body. Luck that gave you a smart brain. Luck that brings wealth. Luck that avoids death. Luck that gives you a team... Luck is the reason that you have all made it this far, yet you're saying that it's unfair to test that very luck?" His smile this time, was quite condescending when compared to his previously lighthearted attitude. "Dispense with the nonsensical talk, and continue the test, Regulars~"

"Wow, he dropped the nice guy act really fast." Kasai said, with a bitter smile. He looked to Reilan, who now had a rather grim expression. Why was he so angry, all of the sudden? Nobody else seemed to feel it, but the Shinsoo around Reilan had taken a rather violent shift in flow. Perhaps he could only tell since he was directly next to him?

Two voices caught the attention of the Regulars, most having been quieted after the Ranker's lecture on luck.

"Um... neither of us were pushed just now..." Ashera pointed out, standing by the boy who hadn't been affected.

The boy scratched his head. "I suppose we'll have to go out, and then come back in, right?"

A look of pure shock rippled across Lero-Ro's face, and it took him a few moments to reply with a smile. "No, Ms. Ashera. Mr. Baam. You both pass. It would seem that I made an error, but that too, is your luck. The disgruntled cries of the more insecure Regulars fell on deaf ears, as the Ranker stared at the boy and girl, who both sighed in relief before sharing a laugh. There were two monsters, this time around...

* * *

Ashera sat by the boy, who had introduced himself to her as Twenty-Fifth Baam, watching their fellow Regulars. The black haired boy from earlier, was the one to first touch the wall. From what she saw, there seemed to be a negative reaction for him.

_At least it wasn't just me, that would be really embarrassing... But, I don't get why neither of us were moved. Mr. Reilan, Mr. Kasai, and lots of other Regulars... they're all strong, right? Probably more so than me, so why were they pushed, and not us? Ah, where **are** Mr. Reilan and Mr. Kasai?_

"You look bored." Lero-Ro observed as he approached the two who had passed, seemingly, by default. "How about we chat, then? Ms. Ashera, Mr. Baam."

Baam and Ashera exchanged hesitant glances, as the Ranker sat down with them. The ensuing silence was quite nerve wracking for the both of them.

With a smile, Lero-Ro looked over the two. "Would you mind indulging my curiosity for moment? I'd like to play a betting game with the two of you~"

"A betting game?" Baam turned his gaze up to the tall Ranker, gold eyes meeting yellow.

"Mhm." Lero-Ro motioned out to the Regulars beyond the wall of Shinsoo. "Out of all those Regulars, who do you think will cross the barrier first?" He saw that both of them seemed interested, and continued. "If you win the bet, I will answer one question that each of you have for me. However, if I win, both of you will answer any question I ask. How does that sound?"

"Really?" Ashera and Baam smiled at one another, nodding before looking to Lero-Ro. "Ok!"

With a satisfied laugh, Lero-Ro looked over the Regulars for a short moment. "I will pick that little green girl. Ms. Anak, I believe."

"Eh? She's a lizard..." Ashera whispered, mostly to herself. _Alligators that stand on two legs, and now lizards that do the same... The Tower really is a wondrous place! Mr. Headon wasn't kidding when he said dreams come to life here!_

After a few moments of observation, Baam came to a decision. "I will also pick the green girl."

The decision caused Lero-Ro to raise an eyebrow. "Picking the same person as me... Is there a reason?"

"Just a feeling..." Replied Baam, who sounded surprisingly confident in his choice.

"And you, Ms. Ashera?" Lero-Ro looked to the girl. "Will you also choose Ms. Anak~?"

Ashera felt herself starting to sweat, as Baam also watched her. "Well..."

_Why did they both choose her? Is there something special about her? Well, I want to believe what Mr. Reilan said about being the strongest Regular on this floor, so..._

"No, I choose my teammate. Mr. Reilan~" Having now spotted the yellow eyed snake, Ashera pointed to him. He was now making his way to the wall of Shinsoo with a fast pace. "He'll definitely get through first!"

Lero-Ro stroked his chin, observing Reilan. Baam was doing the same, though it seemed like he didn't see why Ashera was so confident. In comparison to the lizard, Anak, Reilan seemed quite normal. No, he wasn't normal at all, was he? The one with the eyes of a snake advanced, a dark countenance about him. In fact, was the Shinsoo around him behaving strangely? Could it be... accelerating? No, such a thing shouldn't have been possible for a Regular, not one on the 2nd Floor at least. But then, there actually **had** been something unique that Lero-Ro had noticed earlier. When he had produced the wall of Shinsoo, everyone but Baam and Ashera had been pushed back. However, it did seem for an instant, that Reilan had known what was coming. Could it be that he actually wasn't pushed at all?

Kasai hurried to catch up to his ally, who had stalked off ahead without warning. "Wait up!"

The slight commotion caught the attention of all the Regulars, as the auburn haired guy reached the wall. Unlike the other Regulars who were first seeming to test the Shinsoo wall with their hands, like Anak, the man showed no sign of stopping. And he didn't stop either, not until he walked straight through the wall. Even to the dullest Regular, it was easy to see that he hadn't faced even an ounce of resistance on his way through.

"Who is that guy?" Anak muttered under her breath, passing through the wall just after him.

Both Lero-Ro and Baam were left speechless, as they silently watched the Regular known as Reilan, pass by. He directed his glowing, venomous eyes at Baam for an instant, but didn't halt his advance. In fact, he didn't stop that angry walk of his, until he got as far away from them as was possible at that moment.

"Ms. Ashera..." Lero-Ro looked to her with a smile. "I commend you on your victory. That was most unexpected."

"Well, Mr. Reilan is more amazing than anyone, so..." Worry overcame Ashera, even as she spoke. He may have treated her horribly, and he definitely was frighteningly cold blooded, but... in his own way, she honestly felt that he was doing his best to look out for her.

_I should go talk to him. There must be something bothering him, if he's acting that way, right? I may not have known him long at all, but there's no way that he'd behave that way for no reason. Especially when he claims that it's dumb to get emotional!_

Ashera stood quickly. "I'm gonna go check on him!"

"B-but Ms. Ashera..." Baam looked up toward her when she stood. "What about your question?"

"Oh! Uh... you can go ahead and ask two!" Ashera replied impatiently, before turning to rush over to her teammate.

Lero-Ro watched Ashera hurry off, then looked to Baam who seemed to be as confounded as he was. "Well, then. As Ms. Ashera decided, you may ask me two questions."

With a nervous laugh, Baam nodded. "Right... ok!"

* * *

"Mr. Reilan!" Having made her way over to the corner of the room he was sitting in, Ashera observed him. _Wow, I think I can actually... feel his anger._ She put on an innocent smile, before speaking. "Do you want to tell me why you're so upset?"

"No. Actually. I don't." Reilan replied coldly. Even then, it seemed he was actually being as polite as he could at the moment.

Ashera's disappointment couldn't be hidden, as her smile turned to a frown. "Are you sure?"

There was no reply this time, as he simply kept his eyes on the ground. If looks could kill...

Getting on her knees in front of him, Ashera tried to make eye contact with Reilan. A futile attempt, as she quickly realized. "You know... there have been times where I was also very upset, like you! I didn't really want to talk to anyone at all, you know? But Mom has always been the type to prod instead of leaving me alone. So I always ended up talking to her about anything that bothered me. And, no matter how much I hated the idea of it at the time, I have to admit... I did feel much better afterward. I can't claim to know why you're feeling so down, but if you talk about it, I think that even you will feel way better!"

Still, Reilan kept his mouth shut. He didn't even seem to acknowledge her.

_He complained about me being too stubborn, but he's also really stubborn! Either way, I can't give up now!_

"Do you wanna pull on my hair~?" Ashera suggested, tossing her hair into his face playfully. "I wouldn't mind, if it made you feel better!"

Again, not even a slight response.

"How about I give you a massage!?" With some squeezing hand motions toward Reilan, Ashera smiled. "All my girlfriends back home say that I should be a masseuse!"

Reilan couldn't stop himself from glancing at the girl this time, though he quickly returned his gaze to the ground. Were he in a better mood, he'd have commented his amazement that she actually knew what a masseuse was.

"Um... Oh!" Reaching into her skirt pocket, Ashera quickly looked over her shoulder to make sure nobody was around to hear her. She noticed that Kasai had already come through the wall, but was sitting on the stage instead of joining them. _Why is he sitting over there? Well, I guess it isn't too important right now._ "Here!" Producing a candy bar with a cream colored wrapper. "One bite of this, and all your negative emotions will be replaced with pure bliss! It's one of the most popular back home, so I doubt you've had anything like it! I always keep one on me, just because they're that good!"

As the candy bar was shoved into his hand, Reilan took a look. The label read Cookie'n'cremes.

Some commotion on the other side of the wall drew Ashera's attention for a few moments. When she looked back, the candy bar was nowhere to be seen. "What the- Did you eat it already?! I know it's delicious, but you weren't supposed to eat the wrapper too! Is that how it's done in the Tower!? Even the candy wrappers are edible!?"

"..." Pulling the sash from his neck, where he'd wrapped it during the first test, Reilan stood. He took a deep breath, the sash tying itself around his right arm. "Come on. Something's happening over there. Let's check it out, Ashera."

_I'm happy he's talking at all, but... I guess I couldn't cheer him up. It must be because I just don't know enough about him._

"Sure, ok..." Ashera stood as well, following as Reilan walked back over toward the wall.

As he walked, Reilan glanced over his shoulder at the girl. She didn't seem to have noticed, but after each attempt she'd made to cheer him up, his visage of intense anger had softened more and more. If anything, just the effort to do so had an effect. He couldn't quite remember the last time someone had cared enough to try and make him feel better. Maybe he had been a bit too cruel to the innocent girl... Just a bit.

* * *

Sitting on the stage, Kasai was watching the current troubling event with another team. "That guy is...?" He noticed his teammates approaching, and looked over. "Oh! So she really did manage to make you feel better? I had a feeling she'd be able to!"

"I don't know what you're talking about." Reilan calmly replied, glancing to the other team, who quickly hurried away. "..."

"What was that about?" Ashera asked curiously.

Kasai scratched his head. "Well, our favorite guy here made quite an impression just now. Turns out the majority consensus is that you're a dangerous person. Isn't that weird? They don't even need to talk to you to understand that they should stay out of your way."

Reilan crossed his arms with a rather rude snort. "Like I give a shit. What's going on here?"

"Ah, yeah." Kasai lazily motioned to the tall Regular who was making a scene. "He's angry since he can't get through, and thinks it's stupid. He claims that **he's** the strongest Regular here, and that Shinsoo tricks are for the weak. Or... something like that."

"Hmph. Scum like that believes itself to be the strongest?" Casting a look of disapproval over the oversized man, Reilan took a seat by Kasai. "I'm honestly amazed at how dumb some of these Regulars are. Thinking they're so strong without even knowing their limits."

A laugh escaped Kasai's mouth. "Then do you know your limits? Not that I'm doubting you, I can't deny that you're probably better than I am~"

"Of course I know my limits." Reilan responded, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "If I didn't, I wouldn't be able to say for a fact, that I'm the strongest Regular here. There are actually quite a few impressive Regular's, but not one of them could beat me."

As Lero-Ro went through the wall to confront the boisterous Regular, Ashera kept her eyes on Reilan. _It looks like he's acting the way he was before. That is a good thing, right?_

"-since all the tests are so ridiculous, I guess even someone like you can make it to the top!" The blue haired Regular's ignorant tirade continued. He was even taller than Lero-Ro, so he was looking down upon the Ranker condescendingly. "You probably have no skills at all!"

An annoyed smirk worked it's way across the Ranker's lips. "You must be stupid, if you can't even understand that this is the final, merciful chance that I've laid out for you. I suppose I'll have to show you the hard way. Why someone like you couldn't possibly climb any higher."

"Ashera, this might be educational for you." Reilan suggested, glancing at her. "Pay attention."

"Um... okay?" She was confused, but agreed, devoting her attention to the event that had caused everyone else to stop what they were doing.

The Shinsoo now radiating from Lero-Ro was swirling about his immediate vicinity, though it was focused upon the Regular. The density was so great, that even the least talented of the Regulars could actually see the substance as it weighed down upon the Regular.

"There is no limit to Shinsoo." Lero-Ro declared confidently. "Through Shinsoo alone, one can attain eternal youth, immortality and the powers of a god. It's rumored that the famous Enryu is even able to create life with Shinsoo. Humans, however, always rely on their own power, which **always** has limits. When faced with those who possess infinite power, the moment they realize their limits-" The Regular had fallen to his knees, with a shrill, painful scream. "-humans fall into despair. This Shinsoo wall is the merciful last chance for everyone here. Before you face even greater despair." His eyes took on a bold, white glow, from the buildup of Shinsoo. "I'm saying that those who are not worthy to climb, should fuck off." As the Regular continued to wail, his stature reduced to that of an infant's, a cold glare fell upon him. "Why are you screaming so much? This amount I'm placing upon you, is only the level of Shinsoo commonly seen from the 30th Floor and higher."

"This much is... common...?" The Regular had barely been able to croak the words, hot tears streaming down his face from his eyes, as he hurled up bile into a puddle beneath him.

"Do you understand now?" The Ranker inquired. "Whether you're strong enough, whether you tried hard enough, this is not an issue. You have simply failed to be chosen. Go back to the floor you came from. You are not worthy to climb the Tower."

Ashera covered her mouth, unable to take her eyes off the man who had fallen into the deep reaches of despair. "This is horrible... Nobody deserves to be humiliated like this..."

"Humiliated?" Reilan turned his attention to her once again. "It's better for people like that to realize their lack of worth early on." Rubbing his neck, he watched the broken Regular stand slowly, limping away without a sound. "He's the weakest person on the floor, for sure."

Kasai looked at Reilan, confused. "The weakest? Mr. Lero-Ro said that your strength doesn't matter if you aren't chosen."

"Well, he's wrong." Replied Reilan, without any hesitation. He glanced at Lero-Ro, who had smiled at him for a moment, before sitting by Baam. "Strength is all that matters when you climb the Tower." He pointed to two people, who were giving their all to pass through the wall. A man in a purple sweatsuit, and a lady in a black dress. "Those two are strong. They're physically weak, and not especially skilled. But they know that well, and try their best anyway. They refuse to accept that they're going to be left behind." He closed his eyes, listening to the screams of the two as they forced themselves upon the wall without restraint. "Tenaciously forging ahead, no matter how heavily the odds are stacked against you. Putting your life on the line to make yourself better. Refusing to just lay on your back when you're told you're not good enough. **Making** the choice yourself, instead of simply being chosen. That's what it means to be strong. And it's those people alone, who are worthy of any respect."

Both Kasai and Ashera found their eyes glued to Reilan as he laid out his thoughts for them. They thought that he was just callous to anyone and everyone, but now he seemed to be rather pragmatic.

_So Mr. Reilan does have respect for others. It's just that they have to show that they're determined to move forward no matter what? That's a very strange way to think... Even Mr. Kasai seems to think so._

Opening his eyes, Reilan avoided the stares of his companions. Once he'd gotten going, he didn't want to just stop in the middle. But, he did feel slightly bothered, after telling them more about the way he thought. Not that they would likely understand him, anyway. He noticed the Wraithraiser pass through the wall with relative ease, alongside a blue haired boy. The bandana on his head... a Koon? His interest was piqued when the blue boy struggled a short moment, before pulling his briefcase through the wall after him.

"Huh?" Noticing that Reilan's attention had been drawn by something, Kasai followed his gaze to spot the boy. "Ah! So there's another member of the 10 Great Families here! A child of Koon, eh? I hear they're all crafty. Though I guess it's to be expected, since the kids have to kill each other to remain a part of their own family..."

"Wait, what?" Ashera blinked, shocked by what she'd heard. "They have to kill their own siblings?"

The Arie nodded, a bitter smile on his face. "Yes, Koon Eduan is said to be the one who set that standard. But, I also heard that he doesn't even care about the results..."

"That's despicable..." Muttered Ashera, as she watched the Koon and the Wraithraiser approach the boy she'd befriended a short time ago. "Ah, they're Mr. Baam's team too..."

The briefcase carried by the boy was what primarily kept the attention of Seaworth. Multiple flows of Shinsoo could be read from the it. Three flows, three different flows. Just what was he hiding in there?

"Hey, Mr. Reilan!" Kasai pointed to the two who the yellow eyed man had deemed worthy of respect. "They passed! They look like death, but they passed!"

"See that? To hell with luck, and being chosen." Turning his back to his team, Reilan started moving away from the wall. "The strong deem themselves worthy of climbing."

_He turned around too fast for me to see, but... was Mr. Reilan actually smiling? Was he actually happy then, that Mr. Sweatsuit, and Ms. Dress passed? If so, then maybe Mr. Reilan really isn't as bad as we thought he was~_

* * *

_**Author's Note:**_

_**First of all, thank you for reading this chapter. I appreciate every last person who reads this story, from a novice writer who may be biting off more than he can chew.**_

_**I'm sure some readers may have thought/hoped that this story would be in an alternate reality, or perhaps set after the main story. If so, you may have been disappointed to find that the story is taking place within the original storyline. But rest assured, I won't be following the canon very much, if at all in some cases. At any time where canon is referenced, it'll be a very loose connection. For example, some characters will be getting much heavier focus, and playing more pronounced roles in this story.**_

_**Like Ashera thought, Reilan might not be as bad as people think... but make no mistake, he's an asshole through and through. How he thinks and feels about certain things is vastly different from typical Tower mindset, yet still somewhat in line. The reason he acts the way he does will be explored as the story progresses. Along with the reason why he was almost uncharacteristically enraged after Lero-Ro's luck spiel.**_

_**I did add in some subtle (maybe not so subtle) foreshadowing for certain things to come.**_

_**As for the flashback, I thought it might be best to just invert how I write, with italics representing the things occurring and the standard text being the narrative thoughts. I hope it wasn't confusing.**_

_**Last chapter I decided to display the thoughts of the characters simultaneously, but this time I decided to just directly hint at the thoughts of characters without necessarily displaying their thoughts outright. I thought it turned out pretty well, but maybe that's just me?**_

_**I'm sure some readers noticed, but Headon is more of a troll in this story than he was shown to be in the webtoon.**_

_**I think the main selling point of this story is also the aspect I'll have the most trouble with. Having Reilan, Ashera and Kasai interact with the other Regulars, without ruining or breaking any of their characters, while expanding on them in different ways.**_

_**Next chapter will be Yu Han-Sung's exam, so please look forward to the dialogue between the androgynous Test Director, and the delightfully mismatched team.**_

_**Please leave a review to let me know what you like or dislike, so I can know how to improve in the future. Thanks again for reading!**_

_**P.s. I'll probably try to keep a somewhat regular update schedule. Probably anywhere from 7 to 12 days after prior releases, since I do enjoy writing. I won't make any promises though, since some parts will inevitably be a lot more difficult to write, and thus, more time consuming. ^_^**_


	4. Yu Han-Sung's Examination

**Waves that Change the Tower: Chapter 4**

"_Luck is the reason for anyone being able to climb the Tower."_

Those words, and multiple flamboyant variants of them, played through Reilan Seaworth's mind repeatedly. Twisted into forms that made the Ranker they came from, sound extremely naive and foolish, much more so than he actually had.

_What a fucking joke._

Even now, after having calmed down with the help of his airheaded teammate, just thinking about those words made him feel angry again. This time however, he wasn't openly showing it.

_Luck is all that matters, huh? So every High Ranker in the Tower only got where they were on luck, right? Anybody in the Tower can do exactly what all of them do with a little bit of goddamned luck, is that right? Even the weakest Regular can beat fucking Phantaminum himself, with luck. At least, as far as Lero-freakin-Ro is concerned. How ridiculous. I can't believe such bullshit was spewed from the mouth of a Ranker. And one that's probably ranked rather high in comparison to the majority of them._

With a deep breath, his thoughts took a short pause, and quickly resumed with his exhalation.

_Did that blonde bastard even **hear** himself?! Luck? Screw that. Sure, I'll admit that not everyone is talented. Talent is handed out with the odds of a lottery at birth. But that's the only thing luck affects in life. Even with talent, if someone isn't willing to put in the work and effort to get anywhere, they'll just stay where they were. Blood, sweat, and more blood is what matters. It's **all** that matters. Everyone always used to say I was the most talented of the family, that I was their hope, that I carried their dearest dreams. And because of that, I tried harder than **anyone**. I spared no effort in anything I did. Shinsoo, physical training, mental exercises... I pushed myself harder than anybody in the entire Tower, because I didn't want to disappoint anyone. The thought that luck is the most important factor in this world, is simply ludicrous. That's like saying that everything I've ever done, everything I've put my life on the line for... It's like saying that all of it was for nothing. That's definitely not how it is. If that were true, then I was thrown to the side, and left behind by pure chance... No, I refuse to believe that garbage. Luck had nothing to do with it. I just didn't work hard enough at first. Once I forced myself to exceed every last limit I had, I chose myself to climb the Tower. **That** is how the world works. It has to be... If not, then my life has had no meaning up until now._

The sound of two familiar voices entered Reilan's ears. Slowly, the voices grew louder and louder. No, they weren't becoming louder. His consciousness was just returning to reality, being brought ever closer as every word became clearer. And then...

* * *

"Mr. Reilaaaaan!" Lifting her left hand above her head, Ashera brought it down in a swift chopping motion.

Kasai whistled in amusement, as the hand cut through the air, it's target being the head of their zoned out comrade.

Having just come back from his apparent daydreaming, the snake's hand rose, catching Ashera's wrist just a moment before impact. "What in the thousand hells were you planning to do to me?"

"Um... Not a thing!" Ashera responded quickly, pulling her hand free and backing away from him. "We were just worried about you. You totally zoned out! Mr. Kasai even considered kissing you to bring you back to us!"

With a red face depicting his newly found embarrassment, Kasai let out a deep gasp. "You were the one who suggested that, Ms. Ashera! I'm not lying Mr. Reilan! I'd never ever do something that weird and creepy!"

"No need to get so worked up." Reilan calmly replied, running a hand through his hair coolly. "I have no trouble believing Ashera would come up with such an idiotic method to get someone's attention. Dumb plans come from dumb people, after all."

The girl frowned at the comment. "Just because I'm not quite as smart as you, doesn't mean I'm dumb, Mr. Reilan... I'm actually really smart too!"

_Oh, I know that already. But, "not quite"? Aren't you pushing it a bit, you naive girl? _ "It's typical for stupid people to claim they're not stupid." Replied Reilan, who turned away in a casual manner. "But well, at least you're not blonde."

"H-hey!" Came the offended cries from the two. Kasai being annoyed at having been declared dumb on technicality of being blond himself.

The setting now, was a room similar to the previous, only in that the walls were just as gray. The outermost edges were curved, showing the entire room was circular. In the center stood two similarly gray walls side by side, with a path down the middle. This path, presumably, led to the next testing zone. At least, if the assistant and the robots located at the door on the path, were any indication.

All around the area, were the Regulars who had passed the previous test, relaxing and chatting, while keeping a certain distance from other teams. There was more than enough room to do so, after all. It only took a glance around the room to see who the most noteworthy teams left remaining were. The lizard girl whose weapon had an overpowering flow of Shinsoo, the swordsman, and the sweatsuit wearing guy. The Koon, the Wraithraiser, and the boy who had, as Lero-Ro so eloquently put it, lucked out. A man clad in a blanket, sleeping near the lady with the black dress, and their effeminate male teammate. Well, even if the black dress had his respect, it was only blanket who posed any threat. In fact, of all the Regulars, he may have been the most dangerous. Also of note were a guy clad in armor, standing by a short blonde girl. The armored man's sword had a unique flow of Shinsoo, similarly to Kasai's Ignition Weapon, Varatosk. The girl had something hidden at her back, was it a Shinheuh? Then she was likely an Anima. Their teammate was... inconsequential, to put it politely.

_An Anima, huh? How interesting. She's lacking where it counts though, in... well, in every way. It's probable that she can only control a small Shinheuh, but that's still an ability with plenty of room to grow. So those four teams are the only ones of any real ability. Lizard's team is the strongest of them. Ah? On closer inspection there's one more... Not her team, but just her individually._

Reilan's eyes, which had taken a dark green color, fell on a girl in the distance, who was wearing a black bodysuit. _I hope she's actually hiding real beauty under there. If she's not at least a bit pretty, then it should be a crime to wear such a thing._

"Hm..." Looking around at the other teams, Ashera digressed and turned to look at Reilan once again. She and Kasai had stayed quiet when he began observing everyone else, since he seemed to be concentrating in silence this time. It was then that she noticed. His eyes, which were usually a bright, glowing yellow, were now dark green instead. "Mr. Reilan? What happened to your eyes?"

"His eyes?" Kasai's attention was drawn to them, an expression of surprise running over his face. "They're green?"

Shaking his head as his eyes turned from dark green, back to yellow, Reilan decided to explain. "I can use Shinsoo to temporarily improve my eyesight. Well, I can improve any sense, actually. I call it Sensory Enhancement, and it happens to be one of my many specialties. My eyes change color when they're enhanced. As handy as it is, I tend to see things in slow motion, and in drastically more extensive detail. It gives me a headache if I keep at it for too long."

"That's really cool..." Ashera remarked, staring at Reilan, awestruck. "So you can see things that are really far away, when you enhance your eyesight?"

"To say the least." Responded Reilan, who lightly rubbed his eyes.

Stroking his chin in thought, Kasai looked up at the glass ceiling. "You can improve any sense? Then could you hear everything the others are talking about right now? Can you tell what each of them smell like?"

Reilan nodded, staying silent for a moment before replying, "I could hear them all if I wanted to, but that would just be really annoying, and also grounds for a headache. I could smell everyone too, but I don't want to find out what some of those dirty little bastards smell like." He motioned with a nod, to some Regulars who seemed rather raggedy and unkempt. "I doubt they smell any better than the underside of a Da-an. I prefer to assume that all women smell like fragrant flowers until proven, horrifyingly, otherwise, but I also assume that all these filthy swine smell the opposite until proven otherwise."

"I see..." Kasai scratched his head, noticing a few groups behind Reilan watching him now, after his comment. "Oh... Mr. Reilan? Perhaps you should speak a bit more quietly when... potentially insulting someone..."

"Potentially?" This caused Reilan to laugh for a moment. "If I'm insulting someone, I'd hope that they know it~" Sparing a glance over his shoulder, he spotted the two teams that seemed to have taken offense. "No need to worry about them. I'd be earnestly impressed if even one of those weaklings passed the next test."

Ashera was about to back up Kasai in convincing Reilan to keep his voice lower, but found she was too late. The disgruntled teams had already advanced on them. "Um... Mr. Reilan didn't mean what he said... he was just-"

"No, I meant it. Don't give them the wrong idea." Reilan argued, a blank expression on his face. "Give maggots too much hope, and they think they can act like butterflies."

"Who the hell do you think you are?!" Demanded the largest of the six Regulars. He was... strange looking. He was a lot bigger than Reilan or even Kasai. His body was covered in some gray scales, but he had a pair of wings in his back. Whatever he was, even Reilan didn't seem to know.

_He looks as weird as he is weak. That's a rare quality in a person, to be sure._

When the snake eyed man smiled, amused by something, the scaled guy growled, "I asked you a question, jackass! Just because you passed the last test before anyone else, you think your shit stinks less than ours!?"

Reilan was visually taken aback at that remark. So much so, that he had to look to his two allies. They were also surprised. "Maybe it's just me, but I don't know that that analogy holds any weight in this situation. I was just stating my generally low opinion of the majority of the Regulars here. The fact that you and your-" Sparing a glance, he saw that the other five Regulars were human. "-friends... are offended by that, suggests how insecure you actually are. Otherwise, you'd just ignore what I say. Right? That you can't let it go, means that everything I said was on the money as far as you're concerned. Why did you even bother coming to the Inner Tower? You couldn't really be expecting to even make it past this floor, right?"

Kasai's palm hit his forehead, as the Regulars found their switches flipped almost instantly. Their hands flew to their respective weapons, all ready to attack the one who had verbally assailed them. "Please, everyone. I beg of you, to back down now. This is more for your sake, than anything. Mr. Reilan is definitely the last one you should want to mess with."

_It's no use talking them down. The weakest dogs bark the loudest._

"There's six of us and three of you!" The scaled man yelled. "Make him apologize, and then we'll leave you alone!"

_Just like I thought._

"Eh? You wanna hurt us too?" Ashera asked in surprise. "We didn't do anything, though."

"Will you apologize, Mr. Reilan?" Inquired Kasai, a hopeful look on his face.

Scratching his ear casually, Reilan shrugged. "Nope. I have no reason to be sorry, therefore, there's no reason for me to apologize."

One of the five humans lifted a rather shoddy sword above his head, swinging it down at Reilan, who didn't bother moving.

Stepping forward with a sigh, Kasai extended his right hand, his palm striking the broad side of the sword. It was even weaker than it initially seemed, since it snapped on impact, the blade flying through the air and landing a distance away. The clanging sound produced was enough to draw the attention of some of the other Regulars. "Er..." It was sort of shocking. He didn't even bother reinforcing his body with Shinsoo either. "That was... well..."

Reilan couldn't help but chuckle, as Kasai's needless attempt to defend him made the rest even more hostile, somehow. "What are you even doing? **This** is how you end a fight!" His narrow, predatory eyes, flared with amusement, as he began to move his right hand.

"Stop it!" Ashera exclaimed, grabbing Reilan's hand before he could act. "Don't you remember? Fighting without permission is forbidden!"

"Oh, I wasn't going to fight them." Reilan replied, looking down at his hand, since the girl was gripping it tightly enough to hurt him. "..."

_Fighting suggests that both sides stand an equal chance of winning. It would just be a simple, pleasant slaughter._

As Kasai moved in front of Reilan, attempting to apologize for him, the assistant had made her way over. "Ah."

"Dear Regulars~" The woman, dressed in yellow clothes with black stripes, smiled politely at all of them. "Fighting will not be tolerated until given express permission! Please don't ruin your chances of continuing, due to some petty differences!"

"I couldn't have said it better myself-" Reilan paused to take a look at her name tag. "-Yellow."

_Is that really her name? Or is it just a nickname since she's dressed like a bee?_

"This isn't over, asshat!" The scaled man proclaimed, before storming off with the other five.

Kasai sighed once again, turning to Reilan. "Why did you bother making enemies of them like that? There was no point, and it's just going to come back to bite you!"

"That's right!" Yellow agreed, looking at Reilan. Now that she got a good look, he was really handsome. Of course, those eyes of his were much too intense. "Needlessly turning others against you is never going to be a good move."

"Yeah, Ms. Yellow is right!" Ashera claimed, keeping a tight grip of Reilan's hand still. "It's like you wanted them to get angry and att... ack you." As she realized what Reilan was likely hoping for, she released his hand in disbelief. "You wanted them to eliminate themselves by attacking you, right Mr. Reilan?"

Shaking his hand out, Reilan smiled at the girl. "That's actually a very good guess. But, no. I had no such intention. Like I said before, I was just speaking my mind. Why should I care what anyone else thinks?"

Yellow frowned, while Kasai rubbed his head, but then smiled calmly. "The next test is now beginning~"

* * *

Having returned to the door, Yellow called out to the Regulars. "Please line up with your teams, in the order in which you passed the last test! With the team to pass first, being at the front of the line!"

As asked, all the Regulars sorted themselves according to how they passed the previous test.

"Greetings! I'm the Regular's Test Assistant, Yellow!" The woman announced with a smile. "Because this test is administered one team at a time, please follow the instructions of the guide robots and standby until your team gets their turn!" She motioned to the robots, strange pink little things with shirts like her own.

The Regulars took notice of the robots briefly.

"Now then, let's get started!" Yellow looked to the team at the head of the line, only slightly surprised to find it was the same team with the handsome man who had inadvertently picked a fight, just a short while ago. "Ah, Mr. Reilan! It would seem you're up first~" She motioned to the door. "Please come through this way! Through this door, is another door! Through that door, you will reach the site of the next test!"

Wordlessly, Reilan followed the order, leading the way to the door which slid open. He glanced back to see Kasai and Ashera apologizing to Yellow for his causing a scene, before following. "Why are you apologizing for me?"

"Well, you refuse to apologize for anything, so Ms. Ashera and I have decided to apologize for you, from now on!" Kasai replied with a proud smile.

Reilan didn't quite know how to respond to that, so he turned away and passed through the door.

Yellow watched as Ashera and Kasai followed through, the door closing behind them. "He's lucky he has such caring teammates. Someone like him would turn the entire Tower into his enemy while climbing."

The boy who had been briefly acquainted with Ashera in the previous test, watched the door with a concerned expression. "Mr. Koon? Do you think they'll be ok?"

"What are you talking about, Baam?" Koon tilted his head slightly, and inquisitively. "Didn't I already tell you? Every Regular here should be treated as your greatest enemy. **Especially** that team. That guy with the... reddish hair, is really dangerous. And they've even got someone from the Arie Family. I know you seem to have befriended that girl, but it would be best for us, and everyone really, if they fail right here."

Baam sighed, unable to argue with Koon's cold logic. "I know that, but..." He turned his gaze up toward the towering alligator. "What do you think, Mr. Rak?"

"Hmph." The Wraithraiser named Rak, ran his hand across the blade of his spear. "No matter how bountiful turtles are, in the end, they are just turtles. Even should they pass, they will soon fall at the hands of this great Raleader!"

With an exasperated face palm, Koon sighed. "Somehow, I doubt things would go so easy, even for you, Gator."

* * *

After the first door, was another door. Just as Regular Assistant Yellow had said. Half expecting to find yet another door behind this new door, the trio entered with the decidedly cruelest teammate leading.

Unfortunately, there wasn't another door. Well, that wasn't true at all. In fact, this new room, which was almost entirely cloaked in darkness, had more than one door at the opposite side from which the group entered. There were twelve doors, twelve red doors. They were clearly visible even amongst the darkness of the room. In the center, stood a set of collapsible walls, and before them sat a person. With yellow hair, they were dressed in blue and gold robes. This person was feminine, and incredibly so. Certainly, to Ashera and Kasai, it was a woman sitting before them.

_What a surprise. To be greeted by the Director of the Floor of Test, so early. The High Ranker, Yu Han-Sung. Also known as the Submerged Fish of Evankhell's Floor. That's right, since becoming a High Ranker, he's been dicking around on this floor, doing god knows what. According to Grandfather, his ranking would be ridiculous even for a High Ranker, if he didn't waste away working in this shithole. I doubt it's a common occurrence, to be tested by the Director himself at this stage. There's definitely something strange going on._

"Welcome, Regulars." Yu Han-Sung broke the silence in a pleasant manner, a calm smile on his girly face. "My name is Yu Han-Sung. I will be administering this test. Actually, I'm the Director of all tests on this floor. But just for this test, I am specially administering it myself."

"Wow, she's really pretty!" Remarked Ashera, who marveled at the sight of the Ranker.

Kasai scratched his head, a smile on his face, as he took notice of the coffee set laid out before their admin. "Right? She must be the most powerful Ranker after Evankhell-nim, if she's the Director!"

_She?_ _They think that he's a woman? Well, I guess I can see why. If I didn't already have knowledge of most of the Rankers in the Tower, even I would jump to that conclusion. Ashera's a lot prettier though, even from the standpoint of him being female. Perhaps she doesn't even realize how attractive she actually is? Well, whatever. I'll just let them go on thinking what they want._

"What's our test this time?" Reilan asked nonchalantly, taking a few steps forward.

Han-Sung simply smiled at Reilan for a few moments, seeming to contemplate something, before he decided to respond. "It's a very simple test, Mr. Reilan. There are twelve doors behind me, as you can clearly see. All you have to do is find the true door and exit, within ten minutes~"

"Uh. Come again?" The Arie swordsman bore a dumbfound expression as he stared at the Ranker.

"You mean we... have ten minutes to find which one of those twelve is the right one...?" Ashera blinked in surprise. "Isn't that kinda-"

"-yes, it's quite simple, is it not?" Completing the sentence as he pleased, Han-Sung continued. "If you succeed in finding the true door and open it in ten minutes, you all pass. If you cannot find the door in ten minutes and give up, then you all fail. And if the door you have chosen within ten minutes, is not the correct door, then..." A moment of silence was all it took for the Regulars tension to increase greatly. "You will all die here."

The jaws of Kasai and Ashera fell open dumbly. "We'll die?" They both turned their attention to the snake, who had been completely unfazed by that revelation. What the hell was wrong with him? Was he literally as cold-blooded as a snake!? "Mr. Reilan! What should we do!?"

"Well, for starters, can you two just shut up?" Came the distant reply, from the man who didn't seem to care at all about the result. Ignoring the shocked expressions of the two, he looked at their tester. "In ten minutes, we have to choose the right door, from twelve. That **is** exceedingly simple, as you said. What clues are you going to give us?"

Han-Sung's shoulders hung loosely in a shrug, as he produced a packet from a box, opening it calmly. The first step in the most important moments of his day. "There will be no more clues, Mr. Reilan."

"W-we're gonna die! We're screwed already!?" The innocent girl and the pushy swordsman clung to one another, rather comically, their scared faces fixed on their snake. "What should we do?! Tell us what to do!"

Scratching his head casually, Reilan sighed. "I already told you two to shut up. If you talk again without my permission, I'll remove those impudent tongues. Since you don't seem to know when I'm joking or not, I'll go ahead and let you know right now. I am completely serious, so speak again at your own risk."

A smile formed on Han-Sung's lips. The show of the cold man so casually threatening his teammates was a welcome addition to his coffee preparations. "The test has begun now. Perhaps you should work with your team to come up with the proper solution?"

"There's no need for them." Reilan replied, with a shrug that mimicked the Ranker's from just before. _I already know for a fact that there isn't any test that has no reasonable way to pass. In other words, there's no such thing as an impossible test in accordance with Zahard's Empire._ As his thoughts flowed without any sense of urgency, he took a peek at the other two. Their submissive demeanor brought a smile to his own face this time.

_Well, he said no more clues will be given, which naturally means that we already have everything we need._

Ashera stared at Reilan who turned around. "?"

There was a clock above the door the Regular's had come through. It was moving at a speed far quicker than it should have. Even without the use of a Pocket, Reilan was more than intelligent enough to manually keep track of time without any effort. _Assuming the clock began it's count from 0:00, the minute hand should soon reach the two minute mark... which is conveniently missing, along with all the individual minute markers. Only the numbers which indicate every fifth minute of an hour are there._ As he worked through his thoughts smoothly, Reilan had kept an eye on the clock for another minute. _The hands are moving at an accelerated pace. By rough estimate, it would only take two more minutes for the hour hand to reach twelve. 288 minutes passed within one minute of real time. This clock is moving at a rate of exactly 4.8 times the typical rate at which a clock's hands will move. Five minutes for the clock to return to it's likely original position at 0:00. Ten minutes for exactly 24 hours._ The smile stretched to an amused grin, as he turned to look at Yu Han-Sung. _Smart. Trick others by making them think they have ten minutes. He never said anything other than that, which means that even thought there are ten minutes, we only have five to make a choice. Any door, I assume. A decision made after five minutes leads to the wrong door. I bet he's thinking that intelligence isn't enough, and that one should be able to make choices without hesitation, yet I've easily found the answer by being overwhelmingly more intelligent than anyone else he's ever encountered~ Oh, there I go again, tooting my own horn~ We have about a minute to make a choice. I only needed two to clear this test, huh? I really am pretty awesome._

Han-Sung raised an eyebrow, as Reilan turned to his team. That grin on his face, could it be? Had he really found the answer so easily? This was a test designed for the first team to fail almost indefinitely, if they hesitated. The clue for the success of other teams, was dependent on the teams ahead of them to fail. Did this boy truly come up with the right answer, with practically no clues?

"Ashera. You have 20 seconds. Choose a door with your gut right now." Reilan explained calmly, motioning to the doors. "Just choose whichever one you think is right. I'll believe in your decision."

Kasai stared at Reilan in shock, as Ashera ran ahead, pressured by the tight time window. "You're kidding, right?! We can't just do this on chance and hope for the be-"

CLUNK!

The door which had been opened in a frenzy, had been flung off it's hinges. White light filled the room from behind it, and the sound of the door hitting the ground echoed a moment later.

"Damn..." Feeling weak in the knees, Kasai fell into a sitting position. "Are we done for?"

"No, we just passed." Said Reilan, confidently. "We had a few seconds before five minutes would pass, and we just had to choose any door in those five minutes. Any later, and the door would have killed us instead."

Lifting his hands, the Ranker clapped. He was honestly shocked, and severely impressed, though he wouldn't reveal that so easily. "Well done, Mr. Reilan~ You all pass."

"Seriously?!" An excited leap was Ashera's way of showing her happiness, as Kasai ran over toward her.

"May I ask how you knew?" Han-Sung took a sip of his coffee, setting the cup down in his lap without looking at the Regular.

Crossing his arms, Reilan turned his back to the androgynous male. "This is an extreme understatement now, but I am incredibly good at math."

"That's quite the ego you have there~" Han-Sung remarked in amusement. Truly, this was a boy after his own heart. The next spoken words were too soft to be clearly heard, "You're even more interesting than Headon-nim said you were~"

Reilan glanced back curiously, as Ashera and Kasai were busy cheering by the door, and out of earshot. "I'm assuming you wanted the first group to fail. Maybe you were planning on letting our downfall somehow benefit the ones behind us."

"Mr. Reilan Seaworth." Han-Sung let out a sigh of relief. "It truly is an honor to meet you. Do you know what the chances are, of even the most overlooked Ranker, to hear anything of a child? One completely unrelated to them, who isn't a Princess of Zahard? Even for a child of the Ten Great Families, such a thing is next to impossible. And on the off chance that a Ranker does hear of them, they will simply forget soon after. But then, many Rankers heard of a child, one that they could never forget. For his grandfather, a humble man, had boasted of his grandson's abilities so much that even Zahard himself likely heard of them. It is no small thing for one of the Ten Great Warriors to refer to someone, even their own grandchild, as the next Baek Ryun~ Such news stuck, especially for Wave Controllers like myself. In fact, I believe he claimed your talent actually exceeded even Baek Ryun's!"

_Well, shit. He's known exactly who I was since the moment he saw my name. The famous Submerged Fish decided to oversee this test, just so he could meet me? Isn't that really outlandish? Even if it's me, I never thought a Ranker outside the family would know of me. Much less, a High Ranker. Was Grandfather really that vocal about me in the past? I had no idea..._

"Yes, many Rankers were amazed at the news." Admitted Han-Sung, as he took another sip of his coffee. "I'm sure you wouldn't think so, but even though we heard nothing of you for 300 years, we never forgot. I doubt I am by any means, the only Ranker who has dearly wished, and dreamed, of the day when you would finally climb the Tower. And at last, that day has come. I'm sure it was such a grueling, devastating wait... We often took to discussing what may have become of you, Mr. Reilan. Could you have died without any notice? Doubtful. However, why were you alone unchosen for over 300 years? I can only imagine how your illustrious family handled their brightest star being stuck. How they must have felt when they concluded that the one whom their hopes had been placed in, may not have been fated to climb..."

Reilan took a deep breath, having managed to maintain his composure. "Don't you ever presume to think that you know anything about me. My relationship with my family is of no concern to you either, if that's what you're trying to get at."

A chuckle escaped Han-Sung's mouth at that point. "Oh no, I didn't mean to offend you. Most certainly not. In fact, I was completely serious in saying that I've waited. I apologize if I prodded too hard, for I was merely curious about how you spent those 300 years~ And given that you use an alias now, and hide the symbol of your family... I'm sure you can understand that such things would only make someone like me more... inquisitive~"

"Mr. Reilan!" Ashera called out, waving excitedly. "Come on, let's go! We can go now, right?!"

"You have quite the interesting teammates, Mr. Reilan." Han-Sung noted, smiling at the man as he cast his snake-like eyes downward. "I do hope I get to see more of your overwhelming ability. Though, I suppose I can't see any Regulars here being capable of pushing you to your limits~"

Shrugging, Reilan started toward Kasai and Ashera. "I guess you'll just have to wait and see, won't you?"

"Indeed I will." Han-Sung agreed with an amused laugh. "By the way, Mr. Reilan. I would very much enjoy the chance to speak more with you in private~ Would you object to joining me for coffee when I call for you?"

Reilan halted, in thought over the question. _I can't really see any reason not to accept an invitation. I also have some questions for him, too. _"Sure, I'll have coffee with you... Frappes are my favorite. I don't care what the flavor is."

With an acknowledging nod, Han-Sung watched the boy walk away. "His taste is... surprisingly childish~ How unexpected."

"What were you talking about?" Kasai inquired, watching his comrade curiously.

"Nothing worth mentioning." Reilan replied nonchalantly, looking to Ashera, who was smiling at him. "What?"

Ashera lifted her hand. "High five! We passed because of you!"

Rolling his eyes and sighing, Reilan raised a hand, letting the girl smack it roughly. As he rubbed the hand that was smacked, he glanced at her again. _Dammit, Yu Han-Sung. Whenever I think of them, I get too soft._ "Hey. Maybe I was a bit of a jerk just now. It's just annoying if you two panic when things look bleak." As they made their way through the door, following a new path, he didn't notice their surprise as they stared at him. "As long as you two are my teammates, you don't have to worry about failing any test, so... Because I'm infinitely better than everyone else, and..."

"Don't mention it!" Kasai exclaimed, as he and Ashera linked their arms around Reilan's neck in a rather chummy manner. That was probably as close as they would ever get to receiving an apology from him, after all.

* * *

In a red room, with walls decorated by diamond shaped designs. Having just finished proctoring the previous test, Director Yu Han-Sung had been on his way back to his room. He had been interrupted by another Ranker, the Test Administrator of the 3rd Regular's District, Quant Blitz. Han-Sung never had that high an opinion of him to begin with, but what he was told now, lowered said opinion even further.

"The amount of Regulars to pass the first test is... only three people?" Han-Sung stared at the dark skinned, red haired Ranker, in disbelief. "Just... how did you conduct the test to reach such a result? Did you have an endless deathmatch, or something!?"

Quant Blitz scratched his head, his red eyes shifting focus somewhere to his left, with a stupid smile. "Y-you know my style. I hate complicated things, so... From the start, all I had was a 30 minute survival match..."

With a sigh, the coffee loving Ranker stared blankly at his subordinate. "And you're claiming that in just 30 minutes, only three of those 200 Regulars survived. Are you really going to use such nonsense as an excuse?"

"I know it sounds insane, but it's the truth! After 30 minutes, everyone else was eliminated!" The dimwitted Ranker insisted.

"Who are those three?" Han-Sung asked. "Did one of Zahard's Princesses, or an Irregular come in?"

"Um... It seems... there are both..." Quant nervously admitted, obviously hesitant to do so.

Han-Sung's calm visage twisted to one of annoyance. "Why didn't you report this to me?! And when there are monsters like that around, why the hell are you giving such a test?! Are you insane?!"

Quant's discomfort grew with that comment. "I actually... well, I didn't check..."

"You didn't check the Regular's identities?! You **are** insane!" Snapped the High Ranker in admonishment. "How am I supposed to deal with his? And why does your idiocy have to reach it's peak when Evankhell-nim is away? If he finds out what happened here... It'll be off with our heads..." He tuned out the panicked cries of the childish Ranker. Today had been such a good day, after meeting an elite of elites, even amongst the Great Families. Of course something would happen to ruin such a privileged meeting. Would it be ok to just kill Quant? Maybe this mistake would be overlooked by the untimely demise of the little bastard. At the very least, nobody but Lero-Ro would miss him, right? He... He said something about preparing coffee? "I guess there's no other choice. I'll try to figure something out."

"For real?!" Quant stared at his superior in admiration. "I love you, Yu Han-Sung!"

"Shut up and go prepare the coffee mix." Han-Sung coldly stated, with a slight glare.

* * *

The new room was primarily yellow, and rectangular in shape. There was a brown bench that stretched along the perimeter of the whole room, cutting off at the door. All the Regulars who had passed the test, were now relaxing with their teams. The room was large enough that every team had enough space to themselves. Especially considering that there were no more than 25 teams remaining now.

Reilan Seaworth was sitting in between his comrades, laying with his back against the wall comfortably. He didn't seem to mind the fact that the dark blue haired girl and the blond boy were both leaning against him while napping. They had been the first to take and pass the previous test, and so they had a rather long wait in comparison to every other team. As the two rested, he observed the remaining Regulars. The five teams that had caught his attention earlier had passed, as he knew they would.

_Quite a few teams got eliminated, huh? It was an easy test as long as you're smart. I guess they couldn't handle split second decisions. The Floor of Test... it's just like Mercedes-noona told me. This entire floor is set up to determine whether or not Regulars have what it takes to climb the Tower. No matter how I think of it, I just can't seem to determine Yu Han-Sung's reason for remaining on this floor. With exception of amazing Regulars like me, who are stronger than anyone else upon entry, isn't it really boring to stay on a floor with run of the mill Regulars? Mercy-noona said she was an Admin here for a few years, but it was so tedious and underwhelming that she had to quit to keep her sanity. Then again, she's got the attention span of a mentally deficient White Sturgeon, so maybe not. That Lero-Ro seems to enjoy his job, after all. What's she up to now anyway? Isn't she an Test Admin on the 10th Floor? I'll have to try to avoid her when I get there. Maybe I'll make Ashera ask the Guardian to be tested directly...? What? Why am I thinking that I'll still be teamed up with these two?_

His attention was caught by the blue haired child of Koon, who left his team, speaking to a guide bot before walking off. Even with another, clearer look, Reilan just couldn't see anything too special about the boy, Baam. The alligator resting at his side seemed strong enough, and a chosen of the Koon Family would naturally be impressive, but how did such an unremarkable boy resist the Shinsoo wall like Ashera had? "Oh." He watched the sweatsuit man approach Baam and the Wraithraiser, chatting them up in a friendly manner. Turning his attention elsewhere, he took another good look at the other teams. Aside from the five teams he'd acknowledged as potential competition, there wasn't much that set anyone else apart. Well, there was a pretty girl in a pink dress, a B-rank beauty at a glance. According to the flow of Shinsoo about her, she wasn't a total novice in it's manipulation. There actually was one thing that did stand out, when it reached Reilan's eyes though. The scaled man's team had passed the test somehow.

_Hehehehe... Maybe Lero-Ro wasn't too far off with luck~ I can't really see those idiots having passed in any other fashion. Nevertheless, I **am** indeed earnestly impressed~ Though the other one did actually fail._

The team in question was glaring at Reilan, who tauntingly waved at them, an innocent smile on his face.

The simple action of waving, had managed to wake up the peacefully napping girl on Reilan's arm. With a low yawn, she opened her eyes, immediately seeing his face right in front of hers. "Whoa!" She jumped in shock, falling back onto the bench.

Reilan looked to Ashera, whose face was red. "What's wrong with you?"

"N-nothing!" Ashera quickly replied, in a failed effort to hide how flustered she was. "I'm um... sorry..."

"I already know that you and this fool are touchy feely. It doesn't bother me." Replied Reilan without a care, as Kasai also woke himself up.

"Oh..." She didn't know why, but Ashera was actually a bit disappointed that Reilan seemed to be unaffected by her falling asleep on him.

Kasai stretched his arms out as far as he could, with a loud yawn. He looked around while rubbing his eyes. "Did I miss anything, Mr. Reilan?"

"Nothing of particular to mention." Reilan responded while brushing off the shoulder Kasai's head had been on.

Ashera noticed Baam waving at her as the blue haired boy walked over, and Mr. Sweatsuit walked away. "Oh!" She cheerfully waved back, and looked to Reilan. "Why don't we go talk to Mr. Baam's team?"

"You can go if you want." Reilan claimed, closing his eyes.

Kasai smiled, just a bit nervously, as he noticed the team that had been drawn in by Reilan's earlier comments. "Wow, they're really holding a grudge, huh?"

With a shrug, Reilan said, "I can understand why. I'm also the type of person who will hold a grudge until exacting vengeance."

"I guess that's not too surprising." Ashera suggested, turning to look at the team. "Hey, Mr. Reilan? What do you think the next test is gonna be?"

Reilan opened his eyes to look at her. "Most likely the Position Test."

"Yeah, that would make sense. That's the signature test of the 2nd Floor, after all!" Kasai noted, nodding to himself.

"What's a Position Test?" Asked Ashera inquisitively, looking up at Reilan.

"It's a test where Regulars are put into different positions." Reilan began to explain. "Battles in the Tower primarily take place as a team, and so your position is really important. There are five main positions. Fisherman, pretty much the front line fighter. Scout, the one who goes ahead and takes on danger to observe and spy on enemies. Lightbearer, the information masters who, more often than not, serve as the leaders of a team. Spearbearer, the ones who attack from a distance to support the Fisherman and other teammates. And then Wave Controller, the Shinsoo specialists responsible for influencing the flow of battle with their abilities. There are other positions, like Guide, but that's not a position you can train, since Guides are born into that role."

Ashera smiled at Reilan. "So... Mr. Reilan, you'd be a Wave Controller, right?"

A nod was Reilan's way of confirmation. "Certainly, my main position is Wave Controller."

"What? Can you fill other roles too?" Kasai wondered curiously.

"I can perform all of them, actually." Reilan replied calmly.

Blinking in surprise, Kasai stared at him. "How old are you?"

"Not sure, entirely." Admitted Reilan. "I know I'm at least over 300, though. Maybe it might be closer to 330? To be perfectly honest, I stopped counting, so that's just an educated guess on my part."

Ashera's jaw dropped. "330...? Are you serious?!"

The teams in the room all looked over, curious over the commotion.

* * *

As the door of the yellow room opened, Lero-Ro entered, followed by the assistant from before, Yellow.

"Chosen Regulars!" Lero-Ro called out, to get everyone's attention. "Did you all have a good rest? I'm really happy to see you all here!"

Reilan tilted his head, noticing Yellow mouthing something to him. After deciphering what she was saying, he rolled his eyes, thinking, _She thought we might not pass? Shows what she knows. No wonder she couldn't become a Ranker. I bet she's one of the Regulars who quit at the 20__th__ Floor._

Lero-Ro noticed Reilan's reaction, and smiled. "I'm actually here to bring you all some really good news!"

"Good... news?" The skeptically questioning response came from a Regular with red hair, pushed back by a black headband.

"Yes!" Lero-Ro cheerfully replied. "Before I came here, I had a little chat with the Director. We've decided to conduct a bonus game for everyone!"

The man in the sweatsuit, the Regular, Ship Leesoo, raised a hand. "Excuse me~ If the number of tests increase, it's not exactly good news for us."

"He's right, Mr. Reilan!" Ashera agreed, glancing at him. "Isn't it bad if we have extra tests?"

Reilan turned his gaze to Ashera. "Well, under normal circumstances. A bonus game is different, though. Just wait, I'm sure he'll explain."

"Such heartbreaking words~" With a chuckle, Lero-Ro nodded to Reilan. "A bonus game isn't like the other tests. Taking part is entirely up to you, and there won't be any penalties for deciding not to participate! For this particular game, though, the winner will be awarded maximum points for every test on this floor. In other words, the team that wins, automatically gets to climb to the next floor!"

Koon, the teammate of Baam, spoke up as the other Regulars discussed the prospect of getting to the next floor after a single game. "If the winner gets to go to the next floor, then what of the remaining tests here?"

"Of course, you will not have to participate." Replied Lero-Ro in a cordial manner.

Stroking his chin, Kasai took a look at his team. "Doesn't that sound good? Whatever the game is, I'm sure we can win it if we all work together~"

_Is this the Submerged Fish's attempt to make me reveal my full hand? No, I'm probably just being self conscious. What reason would he have to give such a convenient game, though? Like I thought, there's something unique about this district of Regulars. I'll admit that a few are probably good enough to make me get serious, but shouldn't there be a few exceptional Regulars in every district on the floor? Like Kasai said, we could win the game no matter what it is. But that would defeat the purpose of this floor entirely. I don't know how I feel about advancing just because I won a game._

One of the Regulars asked about the game, receiving an immediate response from the Test Administrator. "The game you are all going to participate in, is called the Crown Game. Details will be given after we move to the game arena~"

* * *

_**Author's Note:**_

_**Thank you for reading this chapter!**_

_**Also, special thanks to Greatazuredragon and Lucenthia for the reviews!**_

_** Lucenthia- Yeah, the Hide and Seek game is going to be really annoying to write. The first part won't be too bad, but for the second, it's gonna be a complete departure from the canon, so... yeah. I'm planning something awesome for B Team, though.**_

_**It might seem like there wasn't much happening in this chapter? But I wanted to give a bit of a focus to the impact Ashera and Kasai have had on Reilan so far, no matter how small. It's important since, as most of you probably caught on, he's really not the type to let himself be swayed by anyone. The fact that they could cause any slight change at all is a monumental accomplishment. Even if he doesn't let them think there was any change.**_

_**I also showed in this chapter that Reilan's ego is easily comparable to Yu Han-Sung himself, which that slippery bastard admires, atop everything else he mentioned. As you could see, Reilan is also more than intelligent enough to make sense of things with things with his intelligence. After all, he's over 300 years old. That's pretty much his reason for being so powerful, smart and knowledgeable, atop his mentioned talent.**_

_**In that conversation between YHS and Reilan, I think I may have made it sort of obvious which family he belongs to? If you didn't catch on from that yet, then I can promise that it'll be revealed in the first chapter after the Crown Game.**_

_**Please look forward to next chapter, which will be the first part of the exceedingly annoying yet entertaining Crown Game. Reilan's, Kasai's and Ashera's abilities will be properly showcased there, and you may also get to see some of Reilan's trollish tendencies.**_

_**P.s. This chapter was actually supposed to have the first part of the Crown Game too, but... well, I just didn't feel like writing such a long chapter after the week I've had. I'll be aiming the next one for June 15th, since I'm keeping my fingers crossed on Tower of God coming back. If not, then I'll probably be too busy crying myself to sleep to get out another chapter that Sunday.**_


	5. Crown Game (1): The Snake and the Lizard

**Waves that Change the Tower: Chapter 5**

_Crown Game: Part 1- The Snake and the Lizard_

The location where the Crown Game would take place, was a circular, arena-like structure. The floors were a slightly pale shade of blue, and the very center had a circular brownish yellow platform. In the center of that circle, was a dark brown, squared throne. It seemed to be made of some sort of smooth, earthen material, given that it reflected light quite well. A golden crown laid on the right armrest of the throne. At the edge of the arena was a yellow, practically golden wall that stretched out above the numerous doors spread throughout evenly. There were many grooves, which jutted out, with said doors being beneath each individual groove. Test Administrator Lero-Ro and Regular Assistant Yellow stood in the center, on both sides of the throne.

The Regulars were placed throughout the arena, in the rooms, each team inhabiting their own room.

"Now that everyone seems to be in place, I will begin giving you the rules of this game!" Lero-Ro announced, speaking in a voice loud and clear enough to be heard by everyone. "In a word, Crown Game is all about 'stealing the crown'." He set his left hand by the crown before continuing. "You must compete with, fight against, the other teams here. Your goal is to be the team who ends the game in possession of the crown. Though it may sound simple, the rules are a bit complicated. Let's begin with the game duration... Crown Game is played over five rounds, each of which last ten minutes. In every round, there is a limit of five teams able to participate. The winner of a round is the team in possession of the crown at the end. Victors automatically get to advance into the next round. And in the next round, five teams, including the winners of the previous round, may once again come to try and take the crown. The winner of the whole game, is the team who ends the fifth round in possession of the crown."

He took a pause to let the Regulars process the information. "For each round, those who wish to advance must press the red buzzer by the exit. Advancement into a round is given on a first come first serve basis. In the event that multiple teams press the buzzer at the same time, the team that hit the buzzer more frequently in previous rounds, will be the one to advance. Take note that there is only one way to bypass the ten minute time limit. If you wear the crown and sit on the throne in the first five minutes, the round will automatically end. In the event that the possessor of the crown changes, regardless of time, the round will end and the team sitting in the throne will be the winners. "

It only took a glance around, to see with his superior eyes, that most of the teams were eagerly listening. "Next are the special rules. If there was a team from a previous round that possessed the crown already, they will remain to defend. However, a member of that team must remain seated with the crown. If that individual has been completely disconnected from the throne, or has lost the crown, that team will be disqualified and removed from the duration of the game. And if another team manages to sit on the throne with the crown, that team will be the winner of the round, which will end."

* * *

Inside one of the rooms, the team "led" by the alligator, had been diligently paying attention.

The blue haired boy, Koon, tilted his head. "What the... Then even if you go out first and win, it's a disadvantage?"

Baam glanced at the boy as the Raleader, nobly, remained silent.

* * *

"Correct!" Replied Lero-Ro, to the confusion of the other Regulars. "The winner of the previous round carries a big risk into the next round! But just because there's great risk, if you delay your chance, the game might just end without a chance to participate!" He lifted the crown, swiftly flipping it to place it atop his head. "It may be a bit complicated for some of you, but just don't think too much. Either way, the winner of the game is the team who holds the crown at the end. All you have to do is steal the crown~" As he removed the throne, spinning it around from his finger, he remembered one final detail. "By the way, due to complicated matters, there'll be another team of Regulars from another district, participating in this game as well." He set the crown back down on the armrest of the throne. "Ok! You can read a detailed version of the rules attached to the walls in your room!"

* * *

As Lero-Ro entered his Lighthouse, and Yellow left, Ashera looked at Kasai and Reilan. "So, what should we do?"

The rules were at the opposite side of the room, yet Reilan could read them clearly from where they sat, even without reinforcing his sight with Shinsoo. "Well, why don't we go ahead and see how things play out?"

Kasai glanced at Reilan, surprised at his response. "Really? I thought for sure, you'd be all like, 'Let's go dominate these useless losers for all five rounds!'"

"Well, you're not wrong in assuming that we'd be more than capable of such a thing." Admitted Reilan, whose lips curled into a smile. "But that would be too boring. I'll decide whether or not we take part, judging on how this first round goes."

"Eh?" Ashera confusedly blinked at him. "I also thought you would want to go out immediately, but... you don't even know if you want us to participate or not? Why? Wouldn't it be really easy for us to win?"

Reilan was looking out of the exit, into the room directly across from them. The room where he'd seen the Regulars from the other district to be. They were all wearing cloaks, so he couldn't tell what they looked like.

_Again, there's no way this is a coincidence. I've never heard of a team from one district being added to another. Just what is that guy hoping for? Of the three, one is even less remarkable than that kid Baam. But that one does have something... strange about them. The big one seems to be very formidable, even compared to the Lizard. The last one though, is... an entirely different story. The Shinsoo around that person is extremely volatile. It doesn't look like they know how to manipulate Shinsoo, but still. I've only ever seen that natural flow of Shinsoo in special inhabitants of the Tower. More specifically, the Princesses... Hm. When I think about it, that Lizard had a similar flow, if a watered down variation of it. I'm probably just over-thinking things, though. What are the chances of there being two Zahard's Princesses climbing at the same time? What would be next? Would there be another Irregular besides Ashera? Yeah right. Like that would ever happen~_

"Kasai? About Varatosk. I read that it should be an A-rank Ignition Weapon, but it has a very negative quality that makes it C-rank instead." The snake leveled an inquisitive gaze at the swordsman. "What does that mean, exactly?"

Kasai pulled the sword from his side, setting it on his lap. He didn't notice that Ashera was left out due to being unaware of what an Ignition Weapon was. "Yes, Father told me the same, and I can understand why. This is literally a double-edged sword. See, Varatosk won't just allow someone to Ignite her with a command. You have to offer something up as sacrifice."

"That's a sexy thought~" Reilan remarked, pleased at the thought of a sword demanding sacrifices to activate. "And Varatosk is female? What does she want then?"

"Yeah, she's really particular." Kasai pointed to the hilt calmly, which had a few puncture holes. "Every time someone Ignites Varatosk, she drains some of their blood." He noticed Reilan's smile widen, while Ashera seemed to become slightly paler. "But her Ignition is **very** powerful! After draining blood, even the most simple swing of the sword will produce a devastating storm of Shinsoo that cuts through... well, I haven't found anything I couldn't cut, to be honest. If I want a bigger attack than normal, she takes more blood."

A slightly -extremely- creepy chuckle was produced from Reilan, which sent chills down the spines of his teammates. "I see~ How very interesting~ And? How much blood does dear Varatosk take from you with each regular Ignition?"

Surprised at the... aroused reaction, followed by his touching of the sword, Kasai's eyebrow twitched uncontrollably. "W-well... I don't really have any way of knowing how much she takes each time. It used to be that I could only Ignite her once every few hours, but now, I think I can handle about four or five normal Ignitions at a time before I get drowsy. Of course, if I want just one huge attack... I usually feel really sluggish and lightheaded afterward."

Ashera felt the need to distance herself from Reilan, who seemed to be uncharacteristically excited after hearing about the sword. Well, uncharacteristic from what she'd seen up to that point. It wasn't like she knew him too well, aside from the fact that he enjoyed insulting others and causing trouble without remorse. Either way, she found herself sliding away from the man. When she thought about it, it was even weirder since he was apparently at least 330 years old... How could he possibly be at least 16 times older than her when he looked to be the same age? Were Rankers even **older** than that?

"My turn to ask now!" Exclaimed Kasai, who had faithfully explained the power of his sword, for the sole sake of asking about Reilan's true ability. "How good are you really? How many Baangs can you use? What kind of Shinsoo Manipulation do you utilize?"

Reilan frowned, obviously upset, since he wanted to talk more about Varatosk. "Well, I can use at least 4 Baangs. You likely won't be seeing any more than that from me, even if we do participate here, though. If you're asking about Flow Control and Reverse-Flow Control, I can use both and combine them. I can't really tell you just one thing I can do with Shinsoo, since I can do it all."

"That's really vague." Kasai pointed out, disappointed. "What do you mean you can do it all? There's an infinite amount of ways to use Shinsoo, right?"

"Yes, and I've knowledge of a vast variety of ways in which I can wield Shinsoo." Reilan replied quickly, before looking at Ashera. "What about you? Can you defend yourself?"

It took a moment for her to reply, since she was still freaked out by Reilan's previous behavior. "Oh! Right! I can! I've taken lots of martial arts classes, and I think I'm pretty good!"

_Well, even if she sucks, she's freaking strong. She'll make do somehow. Not to mention that she's an Irregular. She has some kinda incredible ability with Shinsoo, for sure. Hm, why is it that I'm ok with her being Irregular? Is it because Grandfather is as well?_

* * *

"Now then, let's begin the Crown Game!" The Ranker's voice came from the yellow gold Lighthouse high above the throne in the center. "I will now count to five! Teams who wish to take part in the first round, should press the buzzer before the count ends, and come out! The countdown begins now!"

* * *

Koon relaxed as Lero-Ro began to count down. "Let's just watch first, since there's too much risk in the first round."

With a nod, Baam agreed, "Okay."

The gator simply looked on, never letting go of his spear.

* * *

"Sir Knight? What should we do?" The question came from the young, blonde Anima girl.

The knight in question stroked his chin. "Just watch. It would be quite difficult to stay on top for five rounds."

The last member of the team, a man, frowned at the two. He was quite disappointed that neither of them cared to ask his opinion at all.

* * *

Going out in the first round was too risky. That was the decision Ship Leesoo immediately came to. It would be fine though, as long as they watched and waited until at least the fourth round.

BZZZT!

Of course, his team had other ideas. "You guys..." Leesoo looked as the two got up.

"Let's go." Commanded the lizard, Anak. She waited until the man in the sweatsuit was following, before exiting the room. "Against these weaklings, 50 minutes is a piece of cake."

The swordsman, Hatsu, nodded. "I agree."

"Can't you guys take it easy for once?" Asked Leesoo, who feigned slight annoyance. He had only known them since the free for all that had signaled the beginning of Evankhell's Hell, but he felt that he knew the two well enough already. After all, they were the "strongest Regulars" in the district. As long as he sat on the throne with the crown, this game was as good as theirs.

"I think this will be easy." The two replied in unison, both confident that they wouldn't lose to any other teams.

Looking forward, Leesoo realized that another team had also come out. "Huh?"

The opposing team seemed to be led by the black haired boy who had... disarmed the boisterous Regular before the Shinsoo Barrier Test. At his right, was a boy with brown hair and eyes, dressed in brown, with two swords at his back. Also... brown. All different shades of brown. The last one, at the black hair's right, was a very tall blond with short hair. He was dressed in a gray robe with a simple design of a horizontal line beneath a vertical one. Maybe, it wasn't a robe, but just a very long shirt? His eyes had a red glow, as drool dripped from the right corner of his mouth.

"I think you'll regret it." Leesoo suggested, a confident smile stretching across his face in a similar manner to the lizard's.

"Funny." Black hair quipped, an amused expression on his face, as his teammates readied themselves for battle.

The Administrator's voice resounded through the entire arena, from the Lighthouse. "Crown Game, first round! It begins now!"

* * *

_I figured the Lizard and her team would come out first. She may be pretty strong, but isn't she overestimating herself, if she thinks she can defend the crown for all five rounds? Maybe she doesn't have too many brain cells. Well whatever, this should be somewhat interesting._

"This time, I fight alone." Anak announced, stepping forward with a swing of her curved green weapon. "You two, stay out of this."

_I thought so, it's a hook. I thought it might be an Ignition Weapon, but it's flow is much different from Kasai's or that armored guy's. Now that I get a better look at it, though..._

"Alone?" Black hair stared at the lizard in disbelief. "You crazy?" He hoped for a response, but she casually walked closer to them, each step heard clearly in the silence. "This girl..."

"Please take us seriously!" The brown boy requested, brandishing his two brown longswords. "Are you trying to treat us like noobs!?"

_Noobs? Huh, that's a good description of yourself, brownie. Why are you only wearing brown anyway? Is it your style to model yourself after the various shades of excrement? It's a strange fashion statement, to be sure. One I don't understand at all._

"Seriously...?" Lifting the hook to obscure a part of her face, Anak stared at the men. "Well, that depends on how you do."

Black hair blankly observed the arrogant lizard. "Must be the queen of bluffs..."

"Grrr... Fine!" The crap themed boy glared angrily at Anak as he advanced, swords held low and at his sides. "I will take you on seriously! Alone!"

"Kon!" Shouted the black haired boy, giving a name to his fool of a comrade.

Kon grit his teeth vigorously, the noise carrying a short distance before he spoke up again. "That impudent mouth of yours... I'll make sure you can never use it again! Here I goooo-"

_Wow. That was fast._

A single strike from her palm, was all Anak needed to put down the dual swordsman. A single strike, that sent the boy hurtling across the arena, hitting the ground a distance away and ending up with his back against the wall. As his companions desperately yelled after him, Anak shaped up, cracking her neck. That was way too easy. Was everyone really that much weaker than her?

_Not bad, Lizard. Not bad at all. At the very least, you know how to make people angry. That's a trait I enjoy in a person. Here come his enraged allies~ To be promptly executed, hopefully._

The strange, red eyed blonde approached the enemy from behind, as she swung her apparently extendable hook, to stop the advance of the black haired boy. With an unintelligible battle cry, his arm pulled back, extending past the length it should have reached naturally. Stepping in with a full body torque, he threw his strongest punch, scoring a direct hit on the temple of the lizard. She should be falling over now... No? She was... perfectly fine?

An unamused countenance washed over Anak, as her eyes fell upon the fist at the right side of her head. Lifting and stretching her left arm across her body carelessly, she gripped the man's forearm, squeezing with great force to crush the bones. She casually ignored his pained wails, spinning in a half circle to toss him to the opposite side of the arena.

"UAAAA!" The angry roar came from the last of the three, as he thrust his red needle at the head of the lizard, with both hands, aiming for an instant kill. Nobody could survive a weapon through their brain, after all.

Turning about once more, Anak flicked the hook into her left hand, using the same hand to catch the needle in the same moment. A clear display of her superiority to the rest of the Regulars, as she lifted the boy by the needle, overhead. With a simple extension of the arm, he was thrown a good distance away, into the ground headfirst.

_Yeah, she's definitely impressive. That much is obvious. But I wouldn't have any trouble against her at all, if this is the extent of her ability. I thought she might be a Princess? She's way too underwhelming for that to be the case._

* * *

"Mr. Reilan! She's really strong!" Ashera proclaimed, astonished at the lizard's brief display of ability. "Maybe she's stronger than you are!"

A grin crept across the 300 year old's lips at the statement. He had been enhancing his senses of sight and hearing to monitor the clash accurately. "Stronger than me? Not by a long shot~"

"I have to agree." Kasai said, acknowledging Reilan's claim. "Mr. Reilan can use more than 4 Baangs, and he was even able to keep up with my speed, when I'm probably one of the fastest Regulars on this floor. Not to mention his... unworldly level of confidence."

"Mmm. And little Lizard there, isn't as fast as you, even if she **is** still taking it easy." Reilan added. _After all, Kasai was fast enough to catch me off guard. And I've been sparring with Rankers my entire life. I had to take a hit from him in order to win before. Granted, I have plenty of room to improve in close quarters combat. If that cloaked girl from the other district is a Princess, then the ranking of Regulars is me, her, then Kasai. If it's just physical strength alone, Ashera could probably challenge Lizard. Of course, even if she were useless... Even I have to admit that it's a bit unfair for Kasai and I to be teamed up. I'm looking forward to seeing more of his swordsmanship. The Arie are famed to be the best, after all._

Having been watching the two guys, Ashera conceded that they knew way more than her, and returned her attention to the game. "Oh... they're getting up..."

* * *

Anak placed her left hand on her hip, watching the black haired boy, who managed to get up first even though he had been injured most recently. "What's this? You still wanna go?"

The boy lunged into Anak wildly, causing her to step to the side effortlessly, clearing his path to the throne. "Kon! Shopin! Run now!" There was no way to fight such an opponent. Using the rules of the game however, they could still win as long as one of them reached the crown. All three of them were now sprinting as if their lives depended on it. At least one of them had to make it. Even that monster of a lizard couldn't possibly catch all three of them fast enough!

Hatsu watched as Kon stormed past him desperately. "Hm."

"!" Leesoo's eye was caught by the strange man named Shopin, who charged full speed ahead, while spouting more unintelligible nonsense.

In a blur, something touched down atop the throne. And a green blur cut through the area surrounding the throne. That green blur had struck the three Regulars almost simultaneously, all three having been knocked aside and onto their backs.

The reptile stepped onto the armrest, lifting the crown and setting it on her head as she took a seat. "Now that I think about it, five minutes hasn't passed yet?"

* * *

Ashera stared at Anak for a few moments, before looking to her comrades. "No offense Mr. Kasai, but are you really faster than that?"

"Yep." Kasai replied without strain. "But still, Ms. Lizard there is quite formidable! I'm honestly impressed! She'll be a difficult opponent!"

"Not really." Reilan argued, stretching his arms out. He didn't bother paying attention to the scene unfolding outside, as a result of the winning team having neglected to read the rules. "She took the crown because she's confident in her ability to defend from the throne. But, well... She's quite the arrogant little thing, isn't she? Makes me want to crush her confidence~"

Tugging on Kasai's sleeve, Ashera whispered, "Mr. Reilan is getting creepy again..."

"Mr. Reilan is always creepy..." Kasai responded without thinking, almost as if it had been programmed into him.

A disturbing chuckle filled the room, as the Ranker announced that the next round was to begin. "Listen up, you two. We're entering this round." Reilan decided with a rather cheerful demeanor. He stood, walking toward the exit as the two followed his lead. "Our plan is simple. First, dethrone the lizard. Second..."

* * *

"Let's begin round two!" Lero-Ro exclaimed, from his Lighthouse. "Because there's already a team from last round, the maximum additional entry is four teams! I will now begin counting! Those who wish to participate in this round, hit the buzzer before the count ends! One, two, three, four, five..." By the end of the count, the sound of four buzzers filled the air. It looked like the first round inspired some of the more eager Regulars!

"Four... teams...?" A shocked Leesoo spun around a few times, to get a look at the jerks who decided to make his life hell. Just why did four have to come out, right off the bat?!

The first team was comprised of a large, dark skinned, four eyed man wearing a white polo shirt. A human sized cyclops with a red eye, bald head, and wings folded at his back, carrying a katana. The last was a simple guy with a dark gray long sleeved shirt and a mushroom top hairstyle.

The second team was the black dress ajumma, the effeminate horned blond, and the man who carried the blanket. Which... he was currently sleeping in.

The third team was the one belonging to the scaled man. The two humans with him seemed unremarkable, one carrying a spear, and the other a sword. However, the scaled one was even bigger than the guy on the first team. He must have been strong?

The fourth and final team, was the one that had passed the previous two tests first, with exceeding ease. The leader seemed to be the bad mannered man with straight, long brown hair, tied back in a ponytail. Under the light, his hair was seen to have a rather entrancing auburn hue, though that was overshadowed by his bright yellow, glowing snake eyes. The girl had long, wavy dark blue hair, that reached her thighs. Her eyes were a unique color, silver like a full moon on a dark night, and she was incredibly beautiful. Was she a model? Because she definitely fit the bill. The last one was a tall man, about five or six inches taller than the semi-redhead. His hair was blond, short, and curly. His eyes were a bold, fiery orange. Those colors matched the exuberantly spry aura he naturally seemed to exude. He seemed to be very muscular. Even at a glance, they were, at the very least, the most attractive team in the district by a wide margin. The other Regulars were all wary of them though, and for good reason.

_How fun~ The scaled shit brought his team out to exact vengeance, if his steady glare is anything to go by. Was he watching and waiting until we came out? I can respect that diligence in holding a grudge. I don't know what he's expecting, but I can still respect it~_

"Hey. Leave the other two teams to mess with Sweatsuit's team." Reilan ordered, with a glance to his teammates. They both nodded obediently. "You can go ahead and watch for now. I'll join you after I take care of them. I need a good warmup, after all."

Leesoo carefully sized up the four teams, finding immediate relief as he noticed that the third and fourth teams were about to face off. "Oh good! Two of them are going to fight!"

"Yes, we just have to worry about the other two, and then face the team that wins." Hatsu replied calmly, keeping an eye on the fourth team. Each of them possessed an incredible quality about them. They would surely be victorious.

Anak laid on the throne, observing as her sweatsuit wearing teammate exchanged words with black dress and her trap of a comrade before their fight began. The first team spouted some nonsense to Hatsu, but the swordsman seemed to disregard it, simply drawing his swords and beginning the fight. Her main concern was the fourth team, as it should have been. The auburn haired male was the one who passed the Shinsoo Barrier right before her. His entire team seemed very impressive, but there was something different about him. He was a lot more dangerous, but she couldn't exactly tell how.

* * *

The scaled Regular and his two teammates had attacked the snake man together. His wings allowed him to fly, so he was attacking from the air while the other two kept to the ground. He possessed a strange, long snout, which also held his trump card. But he shouldn't have a need for it against this arrogant son of a bitch.

The man with the spear advanced, with a combination of three spear thrusts. As the target effortlessly evaded each thrust, he spun inward with the third, bringing the butt of the spear up to dash it across the face of his enemy.

"Not a bad feint." Reilan remarked, as he caught the end of the spear in his right hand. As the spear wielder struggled desperately, the snake couldn't help but grin. "You're as weak as you look~"

The sword bearing man lifted his weapon high above his head, as he approached the enemy of his team from behind. With a silent nod to his comrade at the front, he brought the blade down with every ounce of strength he could possibly muster.

The left hand lifting, now covered in a dark green layer of Shinsoo, the blade fell in between two fingers. The fingers made a snipping motion on contact, cutting the blade as the swordsman's broken weapon went straight to the ground. Reilan used the same Shinsoo clad hand to catch the blade when it fell over his shoulder without issue, pushing the hand back to drive the broken blade into the stomach of the attacker. With a glance back, he threw a back kick with his left leg, driving the blade straight through the man's torso and out the other side. As an intended bonus, said man was knocked onto his back a short distance away.

"Asshole!" The mysterious scaled creature swooped down, furiously swinging his right fist down upon the man who had insulted them earlier. He was surprised, when the man had the ability to disarm the spear warrior, twisting the spear and thrusting it up into the fist. Scales laughed however, as his fist obliterated the spearhead, and crashed into the ground as the snake... slithered out of harms way. "You think puny weapons can pierce these scales of mine?!" He pulled his fist out of the ground, which had been cracked in an outward radius.

"Well, you're not important enough to be in my mind, so... no. I didn't **think** that at all." Replied Reilan, who had kept hold of the wooden body of the now-broken spear. When the disarmed man charged in blindly from behind, he thrust the butt of the spear into the man's gut. Coughing up bile wasn't enough to deter a followup, however, as the wooden staff was spun over the snake's shoulder, covering itself in a coat of Shinsoo as the base crashed down upon the man's head.

Scales watched on in shock, as his comrade's head busted open against the ground, causing blood to splash about. "You piece of shit!" His shock quickly turned to rage, as he pulled his head back, inhaling.

"Your friends have nice, red blood~" Reilan pointed out with a smile. "What about you~?"

"What's... with him and blood?" Kasai wondered, unnerved at realizing there was a connection to his stranger than usual behavior. "He got like that when I mentioned Varatosk's ability too..."

"Forget about that!" Ashera exclaimed. "W-what if they die?!"

Kasai scratched his head. "You don't have to worry about that. I don't think that guy will bleed out before this round ends. The other one had his head bashed in, but I've seen people survive worse wounds before. Now, it's another story if our dear friend decides to finish them..."

Noticing Kasai's discomfort, Ashera nodded. "Mr. Reilan! You're not allowed to finish them off!"

"Roger that." Reilan replied, accepting the sudden demand as Scales spat out a strange purple liquid. He jumped to his right, looking to the ground where the liquid had hit. The ground was now dissolving at a rapid rate.

_Was that acid? That Scale twat can spit acid at people so casually? Seriously, what the hell **is** he? Things like that aren't in the encyclopedia. And now that I look again, that acid is really eating the floor.. What would happen if it hit flesh? I kinda want to find out. Would it be possible for me to harvest some from his corpse?_

Scales took flight, circling around his target a few times to gain some speed and momentum. All he needed was one drop of acid to connect, in order to win... But why was that crazy bastard smiling? Didn't he already see how lethal the acid spit was? If not, well it was his funeral. Once in line with the snake, he flew straight toward him, spitting out another round of projectile acid, this time ejected in a spread shot.

Reilan lifted the index and middle fingers on his left hand, the purple fluid splashing against a transparent sphere, which had formed with the simple motion. What didn't connect with the barrier, hit the ground behind, which was quickly eaten up.

Shield of Absolution: Reilan's favorite defensive Shinsoo skill.

"Shit!" Scales spat out angrily. Unfortunately, he couldn't actually spit more acid, since he could only produce and hold a certain amount in his snout. The last round had used up everything he had left, and he would need a few minutes to produce more, so he let his wings spread out to break his momentum. He would fly higher now, to create a safe distance between them.

"Big mistake." Whispered the snake, who lifted his left hand. A ring of Shinsoo manifested directly beneath the scaled he-thing, producing a dark green, cylindrical pillar of Shinsoo in the same moment. The pillar extended straight upward, slamming into the flier.

Rising Pillar: Shinsoo turned into a pillar, that can only ascend.

_If you kept moving, you could've just tried to tackle me and let loose._

Swiping his left hand downward now, another ring of Shinsoo appeared directly above Scales, producing the same cylindrical pillar in that instant. This one fell down atop the first, the poor scaled fly being flattened in between them. Bluish green blood shot out from where the two pillars met, squirting across the entire arena randomly.

Falling Pillar: Shinsoo turned into a pillar that can only descend. When used with Rising Pillar, damage is fatal.

_Unfortunately, the end result would have been your death, anyway. Still..._

"Your blood is... interesting." Observed Reilan, as said blood splashed onto his shield of Shinsoo before being pushed off immediately. "Guess I can't collect that acid now, though." His disappointment at that moment, prevented him from noticing the looks of shock from nearly everyone else in attendance. "Well, it was fun while it lasted." The pillars of Shinsoo, and the shield, all faded to nothingness. A misshapen mass of ground flesh fell to the ground with a disgusting plopping sound, more blood splashing about. "Yeah... I think I prefer red blood."

* * *

Lero-Ro stared at Reilan studiously, as his teammates angrily berated him for killing the Regular. "Just who is he? He's at a level of mastery with Shinsoo, that allows him to create solid objects. But, even Regulars at the 100th Floor and above would struggle- No, even some Rankers would struggle with such a thing. Shinsoo is easiest managed when kept in a free form. But it seemed effortless, for him to keep a solid form of Shinsoo." A screen appeared in front of him when he lifted his hands. "His data was obscure when I checked before, but was it because someone intentionally hid it? I'll have to check again. Having someone like that here, is just..."

* * *

Anak had sat up when Scales was squished. Her eye had momentarily been caught by some blood hitting the ground near the throne. That was Shinsoo, right? Shinsoo that had been molded into solid pillars... As she thought, that man was the most dangerous, after all.

Polo shirt's team had been swept up promptly by Hatsu, who proceeded to assist his weak teammate against, what might as well have been two girls. Discovering the sleeping man at that point, he had been seconds away from committing murder. However, the death of the Regular had drawn their attention as well. "What was that?"

"Shinsoo... wasn't it?" Replied Leesoo, who felt a bit queasy with the blood all over the ground. When some of the blood splashed onto his face, he had to cover his mouth, to stop himself from losing his last meal.

Blanket's eyes had shot open with the fatal Shinsoo attack, his eyes studying the transgressor. He seemed to have made his comrades become quiet with just a few words. There had been something special about him since he passed the Barrier Test, but this? Such a level of control over Shinsoo was beyond just incredible. That man definitely had to be from one of the 10 Great Families, but which one? Someone with that kind of ridiculous power couldn't possibly be overlooked, no matter how one thought about it.

The lizard was staring at him too, though. Curiosity could wait. This was the perfect time to attack. He looked to his teammates. The one in the black dress, Serena, and the blond, Ho. With a nod, he lifted his hand, light gathering before his palm.

Sensing danger, Hatsu's attention flew back to the man in the blanket. "Anak! Dodge! It's Shinsoo!"

"What?!" Thanks to the warning, the lizard was just able to react, as a beam of Shinsoo fired at her. Skipping to the top of the throne, she barely managed to hold on to avoid being disqualified. "Tch!" She quickly scanned ahead, seeing Serena and Ho dash past Leesoo, who had vigorously wiped the blood from his face, and Hatsu.

* * *

"You shouldn't dwell on it." Came the insensitive advice from the snake known as Reilan. It had been in response to Ashera's less than desirable reaction to what he did.

_I did tell them it was their fault for only exempting the two over there from being killed. They're gonna bleed out though anyway, if left alone. I personally think it'd be more humane to kill them now. But whatever. I guess I may have overdone it a bit. That might have been too gruesome, in hindsight. And Ashera's just a normal-ish girl after all. I mean, I don't think it was that bad really, but... Hell. If anything, shouldn't that be considered art? I helped add color to this place. Not enough red, though._

Kasai watched Ashera cry, scarred by what they saw. "Mr. Reilan... even if we mistakenly didn't tell you not to kill him either, that was just... excessive... death is one thing, that was really cruel..."

"Is that so?" Reilan let out a deep, annoyed groan. He decided to ignore the intense battle happening right behind him. "I hate when girls cry. What do you do to make it stop?"

"Apologize to her! Or something!" The Arie replied nervously. He was feeling sick, more from the pungent smell of Scales's corpse, rather than the stomach churning sight.

Dropping a hand on Ashera's head a few times, Reilan waited until she turned to look at him, before speaking. "That was too much for you, I get it. But I already told you in detail. Stuff like that-"

_Well, not stuff exactly like that._

"There are worse ways to go, really." Reilan claimed. "It's not rare for people to die during tests and especially fights." He frowned when he saw her tearful eyes fixed on him. _Dammit, a woman's tears are a weapon I never learned to counter... Maybe I should've let Mom give me those stupid lessons of hers._ "Ashera, I'll... uh... If you stop crying, I promise I won't kill anyone else." He paused before muttering something extra, "During this test."

"Really...?" Ashera sniffled as she stared at him.

"Yes, I promise that I won't kill anyone again. I'll use the most perfectly non-lethal force I can." Reilan assured her, with a pat on the shoulder. "So, hurry up and get over it. Otherwise, we may lose our chance to attack." He pointed a thumb over his shoulder, to where Team Leesoo and Team Blanket were facing off fiercely.

Kasai observed as Ashera forced herself to calm down. "That's... good enough, I guess."

"And as a small bonus." Seaworth pulled the two injured Regulars together, placing his hands over the stomach wound and the brutalized head, his eyes closed for better focus. A warm blue light covered both hands, as Shinsoo flowed directly into the wounds, enhancing the regeneration rate of the two Regulars, just enough for their wounds to stop bleeding. "See? Now they won't die as they lay here..."

"You can heal people?!" An expression of disbelief fixated on the auburn haired man, as Kasai blinked at him.

_Well, it isn't exactly healing, though I guess it's close enough._

"You could say that. I told you I could do it all." Reilan replied, standing and turning back to Ashera. "Better?" A subtle smile formed on his mouth as the girl nodded, wiping her eyes.

* * *

"Hand over the crown." Blanket demanded, having just scored a direct hit on Anak with a high-powered Shinsoo beam. "I can target anyone from anywhere."

Ho and Serena looked on in relief, as the sweatsuit ajussi yelled at Anak desperately. Their teammate, Laure, may have been lazy, but his skills were definitely incredible!

Steam dispersed from the top of the throne, the lizard being revealed to be fine aside from damaged clothing. "You shitheads... should really learn your place..." Her teeth were grit together loudly, the hook in her hands being gripped tightly. "Ignite!" A sinister wave of Shinsoo sprawled out across the arena, greatly unnerving the rest of the Regulars. "You're. All. Dead."

Reilan turned to look as the lizard's hook took a massive, green, whip-like stalk form. "Holy shit... I-is that the Green April...?"

_So it really was one of the 13 Month Series. I wasn't entirely sure, since there are plenty of fakes out there, made by third rate hacks. That would explain her stubborn decision to stay on the throne. I don't know how she could possibly have... Wait, Sweatsuit called her Anak? Anak Zahard? She was a Ranker though, and more importantly, didn't she get killed a while ago? As unbelievable as it is, I can't deny what's right in front of my eyes. Not to mention that they can't be Ignited by anyone but a Princess, according to rumor._

"That's Green April!?" The tall swordsman felt cold sweat on his face, as the weapon crashed down upon the blanket wearing man. "How is that possible...?"

"W-what's Green April?" Ashera asked, naturally shocked at the sudden turn of events.

Laure flew off to his left, having evaded the downward attack. How could he have miscalculated this? He should've known there was something strange about that weapon. In the corner of his eyes, he caught the sight of the other team. There was only one thing to do.

"You said that you could 'target anyone from anywhere?'" Anak inquired, effortlessly making the weapon retract, arcing around her in preparation for the upcoming attack. "Then I can target anywhere from the throne, dumbass!" With that remark, she swung Green April again, bringing it down upon the blanket clad bastard as the weapon split up to attack with multiple stalks.

"Incoming!" Exclaimed Laure, as he landed with a twist, directly next to Reilan.

_That jackass! **He's** gonna use **me** to take out the lizard?! Tch, I almost have to admire how quickly he thinks on his feet though._

With a swift motion, Kasai drew Varatosk, preparing to Ignite as the green stalk whips lashed out, targeting them.

"I got it." The snake hissed venomously. _Originally, I was gonna wait until Blanket's team was out of the park, but I'll move up the schedule. Time to put little Lizard in her place._ A single dark green Baang formed above Reilan's head, roughly twice the size of Kasai. _A great Myun, packed with immense Soo._ A massive ray of dark green Shinsoo, tinged with black streaks, was produced, firing straight through the impending stalks, with Anak as the end target. _Green April is a regenerating weapon. When Ignited, it pretty much turns the weapon into a forest._

Forced to slide to her side, barely having enough room to stay on the throne while evading, Anak growled viciously, "Fucker!" With the stalks quickly regenerating, she worked the hook, guiding them all to focus on the Shinsoo wielding twits. In her fierce anger, she didn't notice that the part of the throne hit by the Shinsoo blast had been clearly blown away. She didn't even have the restraint to realize her own weapon was vibrantly shaking in her hands.

"Hold down her teammates! That goddamn lizard is mine! You, stay the hell out of my way!" The orders barked by Reilan were first aimed at Ashera and Kasai, then to nobody in general, then to Laure. Lunging forward, the stalks primarily focused on him. With swift, well timed dodges, left, right and forward, he advanced with impressive momentum. 3 Baangs of average size formed around him as he moved, firing off at Anak, to force her to defend herself with other stalks of the Green April.

Laure watched the other two attacking the teammates of throned reptile, while her attention was completely focused on the snake. "He's able to increase Myun to such lengths, while filling the Baang with adequate Soo? Just who is he? Like I'm going to sit around and-"

"We're running!" Serena yelled, having grabbed Laure's blanket, which in turn allowed her to pull him along with her and Ho.

"Ajumma! What are you doing?!" The lazy Wave Controller yelled. He had finally found something worth getting passionate over, why was she going to ruin his excitement at the worst possible time? "Why are we running away?!"

Serena glanced back at her teammate quickly. "You really think we can take on that crazy lizard?! And even if those guys win, you think we can beat them?! That snake eyed creep is just as much of a monster as the lizard is!"

* * *

From his Lighthouse perch, Lero-Ro had succeeded in finding the hidden information on the snake, who happened to be going wild below. "Anak Zahard... in comparison to Yuri, she's quite underwhelming. But Mr. Reilan is... dangerous. Far more so, than any of the other Regulars. To think he was from that family... Even here, he stands heads and shoulders above the rest..."

* * *

_I should've asked what would happen if I destroyed the throne outright. I don't really want to take the risk of letting the game end right here either, so I'll just have to avoid big attacks. Then, my best option is..._

Circling around the throne while Ashera and Kasai pushed back Leesoo and Hatsu, Reilan came to an abrupt stop with a short slide, ignoring the stalks which had converged upon him. Shinsoo gathered within his legs, accelerating rapidly. He could feel heat burning within, as the Shinsoo coiled itself around his muscles. The sensation of heat magnified, as he jumped from the ground, the Shinsoo exploding from his legs in line with his movements. Even as he slipped past the seemingly limitless stalks, a similar phenomenon occurred in his left arm.

Due to Leesoo's uselessness against either opponent, Hatsu was pushing himself to the limit to fend off the attacks from the two assailants. A swordsman, and a woman well versed in the martial arts. Neither of them were actually aiming to harm him, it seemed. This was confusing, until he caught sight of their friend, whose feet touched against the top of the throne, directly in front of Anak, and faster than the girl could possibly react. "!"

"Hey there~" With a redoubtable grin stretching across his face, Reilan's left arm moved, his fist thrusting into the shocked Lizard, who just barely managed to lift her free arm in front of her face. On impact, the Shinsoo coiled within his left arm exploded.

No more than a blur in the sight of the present Regular's, the previously dominating green girl launched through the air faster than a bullet. Even the Ranker likely needed a moment to register the sight of the lizard crashing into the middle of the yellow walls, with such force that she left a massive hole in her wake. The unfortunate Regulars who had the luck to be beneath the area she ended up in, were certain to be shaken up as parts of the ceiling came down on them.

"Whew..." Steam was emitted from the left arm, and the legs of Reilan, as he took a seat atop the throne, resting his head atop his right palm. Slowly, the steam dissipated, as the burning sensation in his limbs went away. "That was a bit anticlimactic, wasn't it~?"

Burst Reinforcement: An alternate, vastly different form of Shinsoo Reinforcement.

_Did the crown really stay on her head after that? I'm impressed._

"What just happened?" Kasai wondered, as he stared at his seated ally. Lero-Ro was likely the only one who really saw what had just gone down.

Ashera stayed quiet, staring at the wall Anak had crashed into. Ms. Lizard's comrades seemed just as stupefied as the innocent girl was.

Before Sweatsuit had the thought to scream Lizard's name, green stalks burst from the wall, creating an even bigger hole, as Anak emerged. At a glance, she was... well, vehemently angry, beyond any measure. As she stared down upon the snake, the crown on her head having been severely twisted and bent out of shape, words seemed to just escape her.

"Sturdy little tadpole, aren't you?" Reilan grinned at her tauntingly. "You should curb that attitude though. You're as stubby in the mind, as you are physically."

_Wow, the crown got really messed up. It's pretty awesome that it's still in one piece, though._

The now silent quagmire between the snake's goading expressions, and the lizard's nigh righteous fury, reflected in the spastic movements of Green April's expanding stalks, which seemed to be sharpening at the tips. The atmosphere was interrupted, when the sound of a boy's cries reached the ears of those in the arena. The screams caught the attention of the Snake and the Lizard, who finally realized that her weapon was shaking, resonating with another of the 13 Month Series.

Reilan turned his head to look into the room the screams had come from, and abruptly died in, his eyesight and hearing being enhanced seamlessly through Shinsoo. _The boy that Ashera befriended? Why was he screaming like that? The weapon in his hands... Wait, what the hell?_ Looking to the Lizard, he noticed she was also looking toward the same room. _13 Month Series weapons are supposed to have some sort of reaction when close together, right? You've gotta be kidding me... that kid has one too? Now that just makes no sense. I've never heard of a male getting their hands on one... And how is it that I didn't even notice a unique flow of Shinsoo, like with Green April? Like I heard, those freaking weapons are beyond normal reasoning... Right... according to the Koon brat, the other brat is in possession of the Black March... what the flying fuck? Doesn't it belong to Ha Yuri Za-freakin-hard? There's way too many unrealistic variables in this district. Just what the hell is going on here?_

"Anak! Are you ok?!" Leesoo called out, the concern easily discernible in his voice. "Anak! H-hey, Anak!"

"What does she think she's doing?" Kasai said softly, watching as Anak jumped from the broken wall, speeding over to the room the screams had come from.

Reilan's hands shot up to cover his ears, as a loud crashing sound was produced when Anak busted into the room. Well, it would be loud to anyone else, but with his reinforced hearing, the noise felt like it would rupture his eardrums. _Goddamn lizard! Show some concern for other people! Ow ow ow... there it is. After all of that, __**now**__ I've got a headache... Fuck me._

* * *

_**Author's Note:**_

_**Thank you for reading this chapter!**_

_**The Crown Game has begun, hopefully it was an... explosive start. I acknowledge that my ability to write fighting scenes probably isn't too great though.**_

_**I don't really want any character to yell out a skill name, unless it fits in a situation, so I decided to just have the short note after the introductory usage. I wasn't sure if that ruined pacing though. All skill names will be underlined from now on, as an indication. I guess it can just be assumed that a character is thinking the name of a skill?**_

_**Just in case some readers think that Reilan may have overpowered Anak too easily, or that Kasai was hyped up too much...**_

_**First, Kasai's case. Naturally, Kasai and Anak would actually be able to move at similar speeds. But Kasai is currently far faster since he's skilled in Shinsoo Reinforcement.**_

_**In Reilan's case, as was explained in the previous chapter, he's over 300-330 years old, and possesses a one of a kind talent. During all those years, he practiced a variety of things. His growth was primarily in the application/usage of Shinsoo, which is the reason for Ro's comment about his Shinsoo mastery already being greater than even some Rankers. I won't go into specifics, but his ability to manifest 4+ Baangs just occurred naturally as he trained. Put simply, his talent is geared toward being able to do incredible things with small amounts of Shinsoo, which is why 4 Baangs is more than enough for him to handle opponents at Anak's level. The reason he's so dangerous though, is that 90% of the things he does with Shinsoo require less than a second before taking immediate effect.**_

_**The next chapter will be from Kasai's point of view, as Team Reilan finally meets our favorite Team Rak in battle.**_

_**If anyone has any questions, I'll answer them to the best of my ability, without revealing anything too important. ^_^**_

_**P.s. Reilan actually only used 3 Baangs at any one time in this chapter. Burst Reinforcement will be explained properly next chapter, too.**_

_**For those who may not have understood the scene with the supercharged Shinsoo attack: Myun is the surface area/size of the Baang. Soo is the concentration/mass of Shinsoo in a Baang. Myun and Soo together are the basis of a Baang. Reilan's ability to manipulate Shinsoo is so great that he could create a single Baang with immense Myun, and fill it with a ridiculous Soo. If Anak hadn't been able to dodge, it would've instantly disabled her, since her Shinsoo Resistance isn't as godly as Baam's.**_

* * *

_**The Random Corner: Fun facts, rumors, and bullshit! Do you know what's true or not?**_

_**-**Ashera was the Valedictorian of her school._

_-If Reilan had trained with the goal to manifest more Baangs, he would be able to produce a godly amount (thousands?), at the expense of his broken Shinsoo Manipulation abilities._

_-Reilan has a blood fetish._

_-Kasai hates the horror genre, due to being easily frightened._

_-Kasai believes Varatosk is female._


	6. Crown Game (2): The Strongest Team

**Waves that Change the Tower: Chapter 6**

_Crown Game: Part 2- The Strongest Team in Evankhell's Hell_

The breaching of a certain room, by the recently defeated lizard, drew the attention of her team, as well as Test Administrator Lero-Ro. The two injured Regulars had also been escorted out of the arena by the pink robots from the previous Test, while the flattened Regular was... cleaned up. Meanwhile, the team led by the homicidal snake had convened by the throne.

"Mr. Reilan? What exactly just happened?" Asked Ashera, with a nervous smile.

Kasai studied Reilan, who was shaking out and flexing his arm, as if he were in pain. _He's acting like he's hurt, but he looks alright. And shouldn't Ms. Anak have been the one in pain? But she was perfectly fine._

Sitting in the throne casually, Reilan turned his gaze upward, strangely resembling a child to the two looking down upon him. "Are you asking about how I got the Lizard disqualified? Or are you referring to the Lizard's attempt to rupture my eardrums?"

"The former." Kasai answered, in Ashera's stead. "How the heck did you do that? You're strong, there's no doubt about that, but..."

"...I guess we are a team for the time being." With a glance to the room that was busted open, the yellow eyed man spoke. "Do you know how Shinsoo Reinforcement works, Kasai?"

"Yes, of course I do." Replied Kasai, having taken slight offense. "As the name suggests, you gather Shinsoo in your body, using it to make yourself stronger. You can choose to strengthen a single body part, or the whole body."

_Does he think I'm a fool? I doubt any members of one of the Ten Great Families **wouldn't** know that._

"Ooooh, so that's what it is." Ashera looked down at her hands. "Is it difficult to do that?"

Ignoring Ashera, Reilan focused on Kasai, "I developed my own unique version, which I call Burst Reinforcement. To put it simply, I can wind a single Baang around the body part I want to strengthen. And acting like a coil spring, I let the Baang explode simultaneously with my movements. Unlike Shinsoo Reinforcement, the effects of Burst Reinforcement are instantaneous rather than sustained. For example, if I were to punch you normally, it wouldn't be too dangerous for you, right?"

As Kasai nodded, Ashera frowned at the guys. She wasn't left completely in the dark this time, thanks to Kasai's brief explanation, but would it kill Reilan to properly explain something to her?

"Well, with Burst, I would release the wound up Shinsoo on impact." Reilan reached out, gently tapping his fist against Ashera's stomach. "I could punch a hole through you, if I really tried."

Stroking his chin as Ashera was understandably alerted by that sudden declaration, Kasai replied, "I see. Your version gives you greater power, but only for a brief moment."

_Of course, he only decided to use it at the last second. Ms. Anak was okay though, surprisingly._

"Why didn't your attack do anything more than blow her away?"

"Because I threw that punch with the intent to remove Lizard from the throne," Explained Reilan, calmly. "She hit that wall hard enough, but I made a mistake. Her body was a lot tougher than I had anticipated, so I ended up hurting my hand. If I had known, I would have thrown that punch with intent to kill her. I probably would've went right through her arm, and cracked her skull, at least. Not to mention, I wouldn't have suffered backlash. But well, what's done is done."

He paused before adding, "The Lizard wasn't half bad, though. If she hadn't handled the Green April so well, I wouldn't have had to resort to Burst Reinforcement in the first place."

Raising her hand, almost on habit, Ashera spoke up, "So you used that burst-whatever to jump over to Ms. Anak and attack her? Isn't that the kind of skill that would make any fight easy? Why don't you use it all the time?"

Reilan's eyes closed as he responded, "Because it's not the type of technique that can be spammed. I use Reverse-Flow Control to forcefully change and accelerate the flow of Shinsoo in the strengthened parts of my body, and also Flow Control, to prevent the acceleration from outright destroying my limbs. It requires perfect precision, timing, control and even battle judgment. If someone manages to attack me while I'm in the middle of using Burst Reinforcement, I'll probably lose focus, which would result in me losing a body part."

"Do you mean that your arm or leg would literally... blow up, or something?" Kasai wondered, the notion disturbing both him and Ashera.

"It's possible, I suppose." Reilan admitted. "It's not like that has actually happened to me yet. I **have** lost the ability to move a limb though, when I lost concentration in the past. It's extremely painful. My sparring partners used to laugh when I was in pain, though it's thanks to them that I've gotten quite good at timing and pacing my actions."

Ashera and Kasai exchanged glances, neither sure of whether or not their ally was serious or not, with his casual demeanor.

Opening his eyes, Reilan stood, looking to the silver-eyed girl. "It's a technique with very high risk, but very high reward. So I don't just use it willy-nilly. I observe and analyze situations, before resorting to that. Besides, even if I perform perfectly, continuous usage can put a heavy strain on my muscles. Burst Reinforcement is one of the trump cards that I would only play when I have an adequate opening. Though the rules of this particular game make it so I don't have to worry too much about overexerting myself."

"What do you mean by that?" Asked Kasai, confused by the last statement.

Reilan opened his mouth to reply, though he decided against speaking, once Lero-Ro emerged from the infiltrated room.

* * *

Lero-Ro noticed the Regular who dethroned Anak, motioning him over. With a smile, he approached, spinning the crown he'd taken from Anak. "That was well done, Mr. Reilan. I believe this belongs to you?"

"...No, we're not taking the crown right now." Reilan replied, though he did physically take the crown from the Ranker's outstretched hand.

Lero-Ro raised an eyebrow, as the bent-out-of-shape crown was pulled on by two dark green hands of Shinsoo, being forced back to it's original shape. "You aren't taking the crown? Then, you're going to let this round pass you by?"

"That's right." The snake set the crown down on the throne armrest, looking up at the tall blond Ranker. "About that situation, would you mind telling us about it? Lizard's rash actions hurt my ears, so I decided not to listen in."

A smile returned to Lero-Ro's face, as he observed Reilan, Kasai and Ashera. "I suppose there is no harm in telling you. A wager has been made... One that will leave Mr. Baam as the owner of the Green April, should his team succeed in winning this game. However, if they lose, Ms. Anak will take the Black March."

_So it really was the Green April... Wait, Black March? Seriously? Didn't Princess Yuri just attain that weapon? What in the name of Headon is Mr. Baam doing with it? And why doesn't Mr. Reilan seem surprised?_

"I see." Reilan lifted his hands, pushing his index fingers against his temples, as if in deep thought. "In that case, we could certainly make an additional rule as well, correct? After all, it would be quite unfair if you showed favoritism to those two teams, right?"

Ro smirked, as Kasai and Ashera turned their attention to their comrade, both slightly worried about what he was planning. "What exactly did you have in mind, Mr. Reilan?"

"Hm... What, indeed." The snake quipped, a sly smile curling at his lips as he lowered his hands. "It's simple, really. I want you to add a rule stating that 'neither party will get jack shit, should we win the game.' Such a thing is agreeable enough, isn't it?"

_That's it!? I was thinking he would want a rule where he gets both the Black March and the Green April, but he just wants to make it so neither of them will get anything extra if we win? I really don't understand him._

Lero-Ro stared at Reilan unblinkingly. Like Kasai, he had assumed that the yellow-eyed Regular would want both weapons upon victory. However, this was honestly unexpected. What reason did he have to impose such a rule?

Of course, there was no way the Ranker could deny such a reasonable request. "Very well, should your team win this game, the bet between Ms. Anak and Mr. Baam will be voided."

"Thank you, I appreciate your understanding~" Reilan's smile this time, was uncharacteristically bright, and without a hint of malice.

Ashera looked at Kasai as Reilan turned to head back to their room, and followed behind him quickly. "Mr. Reilan? Did you only say that because you want to mess with Mr. Baam and Ms. Anak?"

"Ah, that's right! I'm sure that's the reason!" Kasai nodded confidently. "After all, Mr. Reilan seems to get off on making others suffer in any fashion!"

With a silent glance back at his teammates, Reilan returned to their designated room.

Scratching his head, Kasai took a last look around the arena, while Ashera went back into the room as well. His attention was caught by Anak's team, who had stopped for a moment in front of the room where the team from another district was waiting. After a short argument, the short lizard stomped off from her comrades who were both left looking a bit sour.

_I wonder what happened with them._

* * *

From his Lighthouse, Lero-Ro gazed down upon the arena. "It seems this Crown Game, is going to be the greatest we've ever seen."

A familiar sound was produced from his Light cube, the sound he always got when receiving a message. This particular message was from Reilan, and read: "The condition we just discussed. That's all we want, when we win. My team isn't interested in passing this Floor automatically."

"How very bold." Remarked Lero-Ro, looking toward the room where the snake was currently laying in wait. "He was able to send that message from his Pocket without access to my Lighthouse? I suppose it isn't impossible then, for him to have buried his own information in the network. I'm looking forward to seeing how this game unfolds."

* * *

Kasai stood by the buzzer, watching Reilan, who was looking at a sleek black book. "Are you... reading right now?"

"I am not." Reilan replied calmly, shutting the book. "Pocket, Invisible Mode."

As the book became invisible, Ashera gasped. "Whoa! That's your Pocket!? Why is it a book?!"

"Why?" The question seemed to make him think. "Well, most A-rank Pockets are unique in form. I enjoy reading, so having this kind of Pocket is a natural thing, isn't it?"

_An A-rank Pocket? Not that that in itself is too surprising, but this does confirm my suspicion. Mr. Reilan is definitely from one of the Ten Great Families. Did his parents give him that, then? That's kind of unfair... My Pocket is just a basic B-rank one. If I could get a customized Pocket, maybe one modeled after a sword-_

"Kasai, stop thinking about useless things." Ordered Reilan, as he tied his black sash around his waist, the long end hanging off at his left side. "The next round is about to begin."

"How did you know what I was thinking about?" Kasai asked, surprised. "Can you read minds?"

Ashera raised a hand with a smile, responding, "You had the kind of smile I always see on kids, when they think about what they might have gotten for Christmas!"

Scratching his head with a smile, Kasai pushed the buzzer when the Ranker began his brief countdown. "Sorry, sorry, I'll focus~ Not that it matters this round, anyway."

"Things don't always go as planned, young man." Reilan responded, his tone a bit too pleasant for his comrades to bear.

* * *

Pushing the buzzer with the countdown, the Koon took a look at his team. "I'm sure that creepy Mr. Snake will be coming back for this round, so keep an eye on him. You especially, Baam. We can't let him take you out."

"Yes, Mr. Koon!" Baam replied with a nod, steeling himself for what was to come. Needless to say, he felt reluctant, given that they would now be competing against the girl he had befriended during the Shinsoo Barrier Test.

"Hmph, I will behead that slippery Snake Turtle!" Declared the Wraithraiser, confidently. "Leave him to me!"

* * *

"Round 3 of the Crown Game, begins now!" The blond Ranker's voice carried through the arena, as five teams emerged, matching the five buzzers that were heard.

The first team was led by an attractive girl with long brownish blonde hair, wearing a pink dress and carrying a pink toy-like wand. At her left stood a tall, bald man, dressed primarily in red, and carrying a red spear. To her right, was an unremarkable chubby man, wearing a white shirt that had a simple black circle in the center.

The second team was comprised of three males, though one of them was actually questionable in gender. A green cloaked man seemed to lead the other two, his weapon of choice being a sniper. The next was a topless man with dark brown skin, bearing a sword similar in shape to a katana. He had four large orange eyes lined up vertically on his elongated face, but no mouth to speak of. The one whose gender could easily be called into question, was a large black blob, with a white line for a mouth, and a single white dot as an eye. It looked like something an abstract artist might draw when bored.

For the third team, the most notable of the three was a tan skinned, red haired man. He had a pair of red wings on his back, and was quite tall and muscular, especially when compared to the tiny creature on his shoulder, and the boy of average height at his side. The tiny creature in question, seemed to only be a few inches tall, with a blond mushroom top hairstyle, and small red horns. The last of them was the boy with red eyes, hair, and even a red beanie. He wore a purple, black and red outfit, with yellow straps that held a club-like weapon on his back.

The fourth team was the party involved with the additional rule. The whitish blue haired Koon boy, with blue eyes and a blue bandana. The boy Baam, with short dark brown hair, and bright golden eyes. He was, of course, carrying the Black March. As well as the Gator that towered over everyone else, bearing a large red spear.

_What an interesting bunch... The only team we really need to worry about is the Wraithraiser's, but Ms. Ashera and I don't have to worry about anything this round. I was skeptical before, but after that previous display, it's obvious that Mr. Reilan won't need any assistance._

Kasai looked over at Reilan, motioning to the crown. "The spotlight is all yours!"

It only took one glance, for Reilan to see what was going through the heads of the other teams. Without a team defending the crown, it was a game of speed. The team that got to the crown first, was the one who would find victory. It wouldn't be too difficult to destroy the teams and then take the crown, however that would only serve to make the remainder of the game terribly dull. "I'm just going wait for a moment."

"Huh?" Ashera blinked at Reilan, baffled by his sudden decision. "But why? What about the plan?"

"The plan hasn't changed," Replied Reilan, with an expression suggesting inquisitiveness, "it's just delayed for a short moment."

Three of the teams moved, all aiming for the crown in various ways. The girl with the wand was planning to retrieve the crown from a distance with Shinsoo. The sniper's team was going to have it's formless comrade act utilize it's shapelessness. The team with the tiny creature, had the small thing in question, fly forward in attempt to reach the crown.

All attempts went to waste, as a figure sped across the arena, covering the great distance to the center almost instantly. The only signal to the movement, was the burst of wind left behind on the very path the figure had moved. The gale blew outward, being felt by the other teams, who heard a sound like thunder piercing the air.

"Ah finally, my body feels lighter." The voice came from the boy who had reached the throne, setting a hand on the armrest which the crown rested on.

Koon Aguero Agnis lifted the crown, ever so slightly, causing the hearts of the other Regulars to practically stop. "I guess the round would end if I were to wear this crown right now..." He paused a moment, serving only to increase the tension, before continuing, "However, that's no fun."

"M-mr. Reilan!" Exclaimed Ashera, turning back to the snake. The snake who was... nowhere to be seen, despite having been there literally a second ago. "Where did he...?"

Kasai felt a drop of sweat roll down his cheek, as he lifted his hand, extending a finger to point out the new position that Reilan had just assumed. Unlike the blue haired boy, there had been only a slight breeze produced from his movement.

As another hand touched the crown, Koon felt his body freeze up. It wasn't even a second ago, when he was alone at the throne. So how in the great Red Rain of Enryu, did the Regular with eyes like a snake, reach him without being noticed?

With a single foot on the throne, Reilan gripped the crown, preventing the blue boy from moving it. "Let me guess. You were going to use Manbarondenna to duplicate the crown, and lead us all on a wild goose chase. While we were scrambling, we would have had no idea that you had stashed the real crown in your bag. It would piss off lots of people, but it would also make it possible for you to win."

The snake pulled on the crown, forcing Koon to draw closer toward him. "Are you surprised? Yes, I suppose you would be. You're confused, wondering how I knew exactly what your plan was. Well, it's simple really. I know exactly what you were going to do, because were I in the same situation, it is exactly what I would do. After all, you must compensate for the weakness of your friend somehow~"

"!" Despite his shock, Koon was able to lift his bag on reflex, defending against a kick from the enemy. A kick that sent him hurtling back, like a soccer ball through the Shinsoo. Even with the sudden impact, the sight of steam emitting from the feet of his assailant, was as clear as day.

"Blue Turtle!"

"Mr. Koon!"

The teammates of the blue haired boy showed their concern, when he was caught by the Gator. As he was set down, the sensation was as if he'd just been kicked by Messi, even after guarding. Just how fast **was** that guy?

"This time, the crown is mine." Reilan declared with a loud and clear voice, as he placed the crown atop his head and took a seat, the steam produced from his legs dissipating.

As Lero-Ro called the round to a swift end in Reilan's favor, the crowned Regular cracked a smile.

"Aha... ahaha... ahahahahahahaha!"

The sudden fit of elated laughter threw everyone off guard, including his own teammates. Surely, they all thought he was off his rocker, as the laughter went on for a good minute, before reaching a rather abrupt end.

"Listen up, miserable wretches~" The Snake's smile fell upon all of the other Regulars. "I'm your King now, so why don't you weak losers bend a knee, and bow to me? I can be a very just and fair ruler, as long as you keep me entertained~"

Clearly feeling the frustration he'd intentionally stirred up amongst the competition, the yellow eyed man revealed a cruel, sinister smile. One which sent chills down many a spine. "I'll put it a different way, to make things clear. All of you should submit to me right now, or die where you stand~"

"Ah ah! The third round is over, dear Regulars! Please, return to your rooms, unless you are Mr. Reilan's teammate!" The cordial voice of the Ranker sounded out, snapping everyone back to their senses. Of course, his main motivation in speaking, was to remind the crown holder that the round had ended.

Kasai and Ashera exchanged slightly miffed looks, while the other four teams grudgingly left the field. They weren't at all secretive about declaring their negative opinions of Reilan, for his humiliating attitude toward them.

_I thought he was acting too normal... He was just waiting for a good chance to stick it to everyone as a group..._

* * *

"_Listen up you two. We're entering this round." Reilan decided with a rather cheerful demeanor. He stood, walking toward the exit as the two followed his lead. "Our plan is simple. First, dethrone the lizard. Second, leave the crown and let time run out, while making sure no other team can take it."_

_Before the rest of the plan could be voiced, Ashera interrupted. "L-leave the crown? Why? Shouldn't we just take it now? What if we miss our chance?!"_

_Kasai set a hand on Ashera's shoulder, shaking his head. "Let him explain, I doubt he hasn't thought things through."_

"_Well, yeah, but..." Ashera sighed, growing quiet._

_With a casual glance to Ashera, Reilan continued, "The round will end with no victor, and we won't be forfeiting, therefore we can participate in the third round. I'll take the crown immediately, and assume dominion over the throne, to end the round early."_

_He turned around, pulling on Ashera's cheeks when he noticed her confusion. "Think about it for a moment, Ashera. If it was a bad idea to take the crown in the first round, it holds the same for the second. In fact, holding the crown is a disadvantage for the first three rounds. After that, the team on defense actually has an edge over the rest of the competition. That holds especially true for us, if I sit on the throne."_

"_Ow ow!" Ashera grabbed Reilan's hands, in attempt to stop him from pinching her. "I-I think I get it! Um... the round only ends immediately if you can take the crown in the first five minutes, so... anyone on offense would also have to make sure that other teams don't take the crown."_

"_Ah, I see!" Kasai dropped his fist into his palm, as if he'd just had some kind of revelation. "That means that the defenders are in for it after the first five minutes pass. Of course, if the other teams are eliminated while worrying about one another, that makes things easier. And with Mr. Reilan's ridiculous ability with Shinsoo, you and I can easily dispatch the competition, Ms. Ashera."_

_Releasing Ashera, Seaworth smiled at his allies. "That's right. I'm in no way weakened by sitting on the throne. When I take the crown, we'll only have to deal with the last two rounds. This means that we can skip a great deal of effort, and go all out for the fourth and fifth rounds. Our victory is pretty much guaranteed."_

"_But that means this plan hinges on your ability to reach the crown in the third round, faster than anyone else can." The girl with dark blue hair pointed out, rubbing her cheeks to soothe her pain._

"_Just leave that to me," Reilan calmly urged. "I can be faster than any other Regular, when the situation allows it."_

_With a nudge to the brain of the group, Kasai voiced a concern, "With only two rounds left, won't the other teams be desperate to get rid of us? Isn't our advantage lost, if they all work together for the sake of defeating us?"_

"_What?" With an expression of slight amusement, yellow eyes looked to his ally. "Do you think that we can't handle it, even if every team attacked us at once?"_

"_That's expecting **way** too much of us." Ashera muttered, feeling discouraged._

_Reilan turned to look the beautiful girl in the eyes, "What happened to that confidence you had when suggesting that we were unbeatable? As long as I'm around, there's no way you two will be beaten. You aren't exactly weak either, so just do your best."_

* * *

Lero-Ro observed the team by the throne, with interest. "Mr. Reilan's speed just then, was leagues ahead of Mr. Koon's. I believe he moved even faster just then, than he did when he was attacking Ms. Anak. For a Wave Controller, he certainly seems to favor overwhelming his opponents at close range. Which is strange, considering how strong he should be from a distance."

His confidence was definitely not baseless, though. Depending on how the fourth round went, it was definitely possible that Team Reilan would win the game with flying colors.

"It's going to cause quite a stir, when the other Rankers learn of this situation. It isn't every day that we get two Zahard's Princesses, two Irregulars, and three members of the Ten Great Families. Regardless of the outcome, life will be quite interesting for the next couple of months."

* * *

"Whew..." Leesoo sighed in relief, looking over to his reptilian teammate. "What do you think, Anak? That snake guy is really dangerous. It seems like those guys won't be able to win as long as he's around."

Anak crossed her arms, her eyes fixed on the man who had knocked her from the throne. She should have been happy that Baam's team would likely lose, however her anger toward the crowned man far exceeded her relief. Even with the Green April ignited, he was still able to overpower her, with a clear difference in ability. Would things have gone differently, had they fought one on one?

A frown found itself on Leesoo's face, as neither of his teammates seemed interested in speaking now. Just why did things have to turn out this way? They hadn't been a team too long, but they were already dangerously close to falling apart completely.

* * *

"Mr. Koon, Mr. Rak... What should we do?" The question came from the innocent boy, Baam.

"Hmph. That Snake Turtle is quite a slippery one." Replied Rak Wraithraiser, in contemplation. "He will be a difficult hunt."

Koon took a deep breath, running a hand through his hair. He wasn't unsettled in the slightest, at being attacked. He had expected such power already, from the way the lizard had been handled. The speed with which the snake caught him, was definitely something to fear, though it didn't matter now. The thing that truly got under his skin, was what the enemy had said. It was easy enough to just assume that he saw through the plan, due to Koon and Reilan sharing a similar thought process. However, what really stuck out, was the fact that the other Regular knew of Manbarondenna in advance. This wasn't something that could be explained simply by just being a member of the Ten Great Families. The snake was obviously well acquainted with the rarer items of the Tower, and that knowledge alone left Koon in a bit of a precarious position.

"That guy... He won't be easy to defeat. And his team won't be pushovers either. The blond guy is an Arie Swordsman. With him defending the throne, while that bastard can attack freely... To make matters worse, that girl with them obviously isn't normal either."

Rak glanced at him. "What is the problem, Blue Turtle? All we have to do is kick the Snake Turtle off the throne."

Upon observing Koon again, Baam realized that his hair was tied up with his bandana. "Mr. Koon? Is there any way for us to win now?"

"Actually..." Koon looked at his comrades. "I've already set the stage for some allies to aid us. If we work together with them, I'm sure we can come up with something. But, I will say this. Right now, winning the game takes a second seat to removing that guy from the throne."

There was no telling what that team may have discussed with the Test Administrator, but it would be best not to ignore the possibility that the auburn haired Regular made some sort of additional condition.

* * *

Kasai sat by Reilan with Ashera, on the throne, still able to feel the anger his comrade had inspired in the competition. "Well, I guess everything went as you planned. But you... have real a gift for pissing people off, don't you?"

"Do I? Can't say I ever noticed such a thing." Responded Reilan, who produced a candy bar with a cream colored wrapper.

Ashera's attention was caught when she heard the wrapper being opened. "Huh?! So you **can** get those in the Tower!?"

"What are you talking about?" Reilan's head tilted to the side. "This is the one you gave me before the last test."

"But you ate it! Wrapper and all!" Exclaimed the dumbfound girl.

Kasai took a look at the wrapper, "Cookie'n'cremes? Never heard of it."

"It's apparently a special product from Ashera's home on the 13th Floor." Reilan explained, flawlessly selling his spontaneously made-up story. "Here, let's try it."

Ashera sweat a bit, taking the piece offered to her, when Reilan split the bar evenly. If he hadn't eaten it, then where had he stashed it until now? It just didn't seem possible for the bar to have been in his pockets all this time.

Lifting the end of his sash in his free hand, Reilan took a bite of the chocolate. "My sash is a Compression Bag. It can hold all sorts of things inside a pocket dimension. That's where I had the chocolate. Actually, I carry everything I have inside of this, so the weight makes it a pretty decent weapon when fortified by Shinsoo, and... ah, this is actually really good."

"Yeah, it is!" Kasai agreed eagerly, eyeing Reilan's piece after devouring his own. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised at this point. You have an A-rank Pocket, after all. Now you have a Compression Bag. I wouldn't even be too surprised if you had something like an A-rank Lighthouse~"

"...Funny that you mention that."

Kasai couldn't help but gasp, his reaction inciting laughter from Reilan. "Are you serious!? You **do** have an A-rank Lighthouse?!"

"No comment."

Ashera took her time eating her piece, savoring the taste while she watched the two guys. "You two... get along really well, don't you?"

"Hm?" The boys both looked at her, leaving a certain piece of chocolate open to a well timed chomp.

Reilan's hand twitched spasmodically, as he realized it was empty. "Kasai? What Floor would you like to be buried on?"

_Shit... I couldn't help myself. That thing was really freaking good..._

* * *

With the usual countdown from Lero-Ro, four buzzers went off. Four teams emerged when the room doors opened, and the fourth round was called to a start.

Of course, the team of Rak, Koon and Baam had come out to try again. The Koon's hair was tied up with his bandana, something he had been sure to do just before returning to his room previously.

The next was a team led by a man with black hair, and slightly tan skin, wearing a plain white sweater. At his right, there stood a tall woman with bright red hair, dressed in a white, long sleeved button-up shirt. The third of the team was a large, green, clay-like creature with a strange conical head. It's only limbs were it's two arms.

The third team was comprised of three males. The first, a tall, muscular man with red eyes and red hair pushed back with a headband. The second was a man with dark brown skin, and long black hair, tied back in a messy ponytail. The third man was chubby and shirtless, his face covered by a skin tight leather mask, and his weapon of choice seemed to be a club, roughly the size of his own arm.

Last off, was the team that seemed the strangest, even compared to the Gator or the clay-thing. They had a pale young girl, about ten or so in appearance. Her short black hair was matched by her black and gray outfit. The next was a boy who looked to be bald, aside from a thick patch of hair that hang down at the right side of his head. He wore a strange gauntlet-like weapon on his left arm. The last of them was the strangest, by far. He was an insect creature whose body was covered in a black cloak, aside from his seemingly elastic hands, and segmented head. Without any eyes or a mouth, he was just about as odd as the winged bug that had been squashed in the second round.

The team defending the crown sized up the competition with a glance.

"Be careful, you two." Reilan suggested, or rather ordered, "That Koon guy made a point of tying his hair up, after the end of the last round. It's likely to be a signal of some sort, for a plan he concocted."

The other two near the crown nodded, turning their attention upon the competition.

The eyes of the Arie fell upon the team with the muscular redhead, as they would be his first targets. With a deep breath, he drew Varatosk, ignoring the pain flaring from the bump on his head.

_I want to show Mr. Reilan that he can rely on us. I'm sure Ms. Ashera feels the same way. We can't afford to let him think that we're useless to him. What's with that insect's team though? I'm pretty sure I've never seen them before._

* * *

Noticing the attention from the swordsman, the man with the headband looked to the other teams. "Hey! You guys! There's no point in fighting each other right now! Let's join forces first, and take these guys down! We can fight among ourselves after the fifth minute!"

"I agree!" Called out the male dressed in the white sweater, "There's no need to waste energy needlessly! Let's group up and take them down!"

* * *

Koon nodded to the team with the strange insect, and looked to his two companions. "They're our allies. I was going to see if we could get the other two teams to aid us at first, but they both made it exceedingly easy."

"I see," Rak brandished his spear in a flourish, a grin stretching across his face. "Let the hunt begin!"

"Yeah, let's work together and take them down." The Koon replied in agreement. "To be honest, I didn't want to call in the favor so soon, especially not in this bonus game. However, if we want any chance of winning this, we can't spare any effort. We're going to destroy that team, at any cost."

"Favor?" The Gator spared a curious glance for his sly comrade.

Baam pointed, as the blond and the girl both moved. "They're attacking!"

* * *

"I apologize in advance!" Kasai shouted, as he sprinted over to Headband's team, covering the considerable distance within a second, even without Shinsoo Reinforcement.

The man with the ponytail intercepted Kasai, raising his own sword in defense of Headband. "I shall cut you down! And your abominable leader will follow!"

"Really?" With the short response, Kasai simply exerted some strength, pushing the opponent back a step, breaking his sword with surprising ease.

_I seem to have a knack for breaking swords these days..._

Leather Mask grit his teeth upon witnessing his first ally cut down in a flash, after his sword was broken. "You! Die!" Stepping forward with impressive agility for a man of his size, he brought his club down upon Kasai with every ounce of strength in his body.

"Too slow," Stepping aside, Kasai parried the blow, shifting his blade at a downward angle in the process, to let the club hit the ground with practically no resistance as it slid off the weapon. Gripping the scabbard at his side, the swordsman pulled it free, lunging into Leather Mask. "You can't beat anyone like that."

As the chubby man was met with a faceful of blunt scabbard action, Headband sprung at Kasai, fists pulled back dramatically, in preparation for a flurry of punches. "Asshole!"

"That's not very nice." Remarked Kasai, as he hopped into the air, easily clearing the space targeted by Headband's fists of fury. Upon landing at the redhead's back, it took only a flick of the wrist, and a blunt edge to the back of the neck, for the man to fall mid-assault.

The swordsman took a moment, admiring his own handiwork. Using the back of his sword, and a thrust of his trusty scabbard, the opposing team had been put down with extreme prejudice, yet without a casualty.

_If only Mr. Reilan were more willing to find victory without the expense of someone else's life. After this, he'll hopefully rely more on me to fight._

* * *

Reilan found himself whistling, as he marveled at the speed and efficiency, with which Kasai had dispatched the first team. Was that only ten seconds? Perhaps it was more like twelve, but that made the feat no less impressive.

The snake turned his attention to the girl who had engaged the team closest to her, within the time it took for their friendly neighborhood swordsman to clean up the riffraff.

"I've got her!" Exclaimed the woman with bright red hair, as she aimed to tackle the enemy girl mid-sprint.

With a shift of her weight, Ashera slowed just enough for a forward jump. Planting her left foot in the face of the Redhead, she kicked off to propel herself over, and down to land in front of White Shirt.

White Shirt watched Redhead hit the ground, face crashing down as a result of being used as a springboard, and scrambling to get up as quickly as she could. "Don't get cocky, little girl!" Lunging forward, he threw a forward kick, putting all his weight behind it.

Wordlessly, Ashera dropped to the ground performing a Low Spinning Sweep Kick in a half circle, removing the man's back leg from the ground, causing him to fall all over himself. Meanwhile, Redhead had recovered and charged at her from behind.

"I'm not cocky," Claimed Ashera, calmly, with a glance over her shoulder. With a vertical jump from her crouching position, she added a spin midair to bring her foot around into a Jumping Spinning Roundhouse Kick, impacting directly against the side of the red haired woman's head. In the process, she had instinctively kept a hand over her skirt in effort to prevent eyes from seeing underneath. "But if I hold back, I think Mr. Reilan will do something really mean to me! So, sorry!"

As the dark blue haired Irregular's feet touched the ground, Redhead was flung into an aerial cartwheel from the force of the kick, revolving three full times as she crashed down about six or seven meters away. The sight of this actually threw everyone present for a loop, as none could have expected a girl with such a slender frame to pack such a kick.

Reilan wasn't as surprised as the rest of the lot, given his firsthand experience with the girl's contrary-to-appearance strength. However, he was quite impressed by actions she'd taken thus far. "Not bad~"

The snake lifted his hand, manifesting a dark green Baang of Shinsoo as the clay-like creature moved upon Ashera, a large laser blazing across the battlefield. The Shinsoo beam found it's mark in the center of the creature's body, sending it hurtling through the air for several meters, before striking the ground with a violent tumble.

"Ah!" Ashera quickly turned, surprised to see the creature stop against the arena wall.

"Don't be so quick to let your guard down, Ashera." Suggested the snake, with a somewhat blank tone. "Enemies won't hesitate to kill you."

Ashera could feel her cheeks redden, as she glanced back toward the throne. "Right..."

An object tore through the Shinsoo, with the girl as it's target.

The impending danger immediately alerted Ashera, who evaded with a backflip over a meter distance, just in time for a blur to cut a swath where she had just been standing. Nearly stumbling when she landed, she quickly caught herself as White Shirt regained his composure after his collapse, and picked himself up.

* * *

"The whole team is prey worthy of my spear!" The Gator chirped excitedly, after observing the action.

"Ms. Ashera is very strong, too..." Noted Baam, his insecurity at being useless now filling his self.

Koon glanced at his naive ally, "Baam, don't think about useless things. This is where things come to a head."

As if signaled by his words, the insects team advanced on the girl with silver eyes.

"Gator! Let's go!" Starting forward, the blue haired boy's intention was clearly to target the snake coiled around the throne.

"Baam, stay out of harm's way!"

Taking off into a sprint, Koon made a beeline for Reilan, brandishing a knife as Gator trailed a good distance behind.

As a dark green Shinsoo beam fired directly at the aggressive pair, Manbarondenna was swung just in time, deflecting the beam after a short struggle.

* * *

The projectile that targeted Ashera had returned to the guy with the patch of hair, fixing back into the gauntlet it had been thrown from. Some kind of boomerang?

White Shirt skipped forward, throwing a punch at the girl who had tripped him, while her attention was split between himself and the other team.

"!" Noticing the incoming punch, Ashera lifted her hands, guarding while jumping back, to push off the point of impact safely. Four of them and one of her? Not a good situation. With the throne being rushed, she likely couldn't expect any immediate aid from Reilan.

The Insect lifted a hand, it's finger/claws extending a few meters once in range, aiming to capture and drag the girl toward him.

Upon spotting the attack, Ashera jumped to her left, shifting her weight to initiate a butterfly twist and avoid the extending units. She moved further from the throne, but closer to White Shirt, deciding to knock him out while she had the chance.

White Shirt was practically on top of her as she landed, rearing to go. "You're mine!" With a swift forward right step, he led with a right jab and followed up with a left hook immediately.

Quickly assuming her Taekwondo Fighting Stance, Ashera weaved around to the man's right, avoiding the jab and causing him to strain his movements in order to adjust the target of his left straight. Delivering a right Low Kick to his shin to disrupt his strained movement, she immediately pivoted on her left foot, bringing the same leg up into a Roundhouse directly into the opponent's side.

His breath expelling itself from his mouth on contact from the kick, White Shirt's vision became blurry rather quickly, as he stumbled forward in attempt to keep control of himself. He had no way of defending himself, when his female adversary lifted the same leg she'd already kicked him twice with, slamming it down upon the nape of his neck with an Axe Kick. The world had gone black for him, before he even hit the ground.

"Whoops..." Ashera couldn't help but wince, as she had been aiming for the man's collar bone. She regretted the action, even as his head crashed to the ground, her foot remaining atop his neck for a moment.

"S-sorry..." Due to her inner self-chastising, she didn't notice the pale little girl's approach until it was too late.

Pale Girl lifted her hand, directed toward the Taekwondo practitioner, speaking with a strange language of some sort that even the Pocket couldn't seem to translate properly.

As an awkward pressure bore down upon her, Ashera felt her body freeze up. She attempted to call out for Reilan and Kasai, but found herself unable to even speak let alone move.

The Pale Girl had been expecting a specific result, one that involved the girl falling over and collapsing. However the best she seemed to manage, was to hold her still, so she nodded to her two teammates, to have them attack her.

* * *

_Crap... What should I do now?_

After crushing the chubby man's team, Kasai had been observing Ashera and Reilan as they dealt with the other teams. However, once the important team rushed the throne, he found his interests split. This kind of situation was the worst, given how indecisive he could sometimes be when things really mattered.

Having quickly gained ground, the Koon and Wraithraiser were dangerously close to Reilan, though the crown holder was wearing a suspicious smile. Every Shinsoo beam fired, was either deflected or avoided by the duo.

Ashera had been dealing with her opponents extremely well despite the disadvantage in numbers, but she was now facing a predicament.

_Well, Mr. Reilan seems happy about his situation somehow, so Ms. Ashera it is. Besides, I doubt he'll be in trouble if left to his own devices for a time!_

Right as his decision to aid Ashera was made, he noticed the girl seemed to have been frozen in place by the pale one on the insects team. "Dammit!"

He knew he would be late, even if he moved now, with the insect and boomerang man preparing to attack, yet he moved anyway. Stepping forward, he entered a lightning speed sprint in effort to assist his struggling teammate.

* * *

Koon smirked as he deflected another beam with Manbarondenna. Was the Snake so dumb, that he would just keep trying the same thing over and over? Apparently so, he would just wear himself out at this rate.

Noticing the blue-eyed smirk, Reilan himself smiled, manifesting 3 Baangs this time around. "Sorry, I had fun letting you think I was trying hard. And just so you know, if it's only simple beams, I can literally do this all this day~"

"Shi-" The curse was cut off, as Koon took a beam head on, defending with his bag and being blown back across the ground, barely managing to keep his feet grounded as his charge was brought to an abrupt stop. To make matters worse, the other two beams fired with a curve, both aiming for him. Wait, he could curve his Shinsoo beams? He and the Gator had charged while blocking Baam from his trajectory, but he could have taken him from afar at any time?

"Pesky Snake Turtle!" Roared the Raleader, thrusting his spear out to block Koon from one beam. The second was handled by his bare hand, dispersing with a single punch as he got in front of his Blue Turtle.

Reilan was visibly caught off guard, his amazement at the sight obvious. "He did the same thing Kasai did... Without Shinsoo Reinforcement too. And did he just call me a turtle?"

"Stand still! AND LET ME BREAK YOUR SLIPPERY SHELL!" The bellow served as a battle cry, rallying the blue one, and alarming the remaining competitors.

"Not bad, Gator!" Koon complimented, the smirk returning to his face. For whatever reason, the Snake wasn't planning to attack Baam, so they had to make the best of it. "Let's get him!"

The still seated Snake's predatory eyes narrowed on the two before him. He had been paying attention to Ashera's situation, and promptly ignored it when he noticed Kasai was going to save her. Now, the Koon and Wraithraiser combo had his full attention. Manbarondenna was even more viable as a defensive tool than he had known, and the alligator was as strong as his stature suggested. These basic Shinsoo attacks weren't enough to deal with them, so it was time to start getting serious.

Just then, the Arie had sped past, behind the 'turtle loving' Gator and the blue boy, producing a gust of wind that temporarily caught the attention of both.

"...Okay, I'll take that." Reilan lifted a hand, dark green Shinsoo gathering above his palm and flowing in a circular fashion, swiftly molding to take the form of a large chakram, about two meters in circumference. The chakram spun horizontally at high speeds, as it was hurled at the two with a simple hand motion, just as they regained their focus.

Sundering Circle: Shinsoo Technique that turns 2 Baangs into a fast spinning chakram that cuts cleanly through intended targets.

Koon reacted quickly enough to duck under the chakram, the Gator choosing to jump, with part of his cape being cut off cleanly.

"Tch, why did you dodge? Now I feel like I have to hit **someone**." Guiding the chakram with his hand, Reilan commanded it to twist, rising up into the air before descending down in a vertical spin with a new target. "I wasn't even planning to attack that kid. This is your fault."

"Baam?!"

"Black Turtle!"

Having landed, Rak turned with Koon, as quickly as they could. Both expected to see the chakram cutting through their defenseless ally. Two thought it was all over, but three were shocked.

From the area in front of his team's room, Baam knew he wasn't nearly fast enough to avoid the chakram like Koon and the Gator, so he did the only thing he could. He raised the Black March above his head defensively.

As if reacting to his strong, desperate desire to survive, the Black March emitted an incredible wave of Shinsoo. One that radiated outward from the needle in a dome. As the chakram and the dome came into contact, the deadly spinning blade was completely blown away, shattering and fading back to neutral Shinsoo at the same time.

* * *

The girl with long dark blue hair could see the incoming attacks, in seemingly slow motion, perhaps due to her sudden rush of adrenaline. Part of the nearly bald man's gauntlet had shot off, revolving in the same fashion as a boomerang, speeding toward her. The Insect's claws had extended once again, just a single hand, the three elastic limbs reaching toward her, likely with the intent to pierce her body.

The closer she got to her impending doom, the faster her heart beat. Faster, faster, and faster still. Until she could feel the literal flow of blood pumping through her veins. She clearly felt a powerful pressure constricting her body, however she could feel a considerably **greater** pressure beyond what had her bound.

Ashera had the sensation that the immense pressure was one she could influence. This was a similar sensation to what she had felt when she kicked the White Steel Eel back then, in front of Yuri, Evan and Headon. Her mind was functioning in this hyper-aware state, far faster than ever before. She had thought nothing of it then, but this time she knew. What she felt flowing around her was the substance Reilan, Kasai and Lero-Ro had referred to as Shinsoo.

She had no idea how she could possibly make use of the mysterious substance. From what little she had seen, it seemed that it took many years for one to properly wield the power of Shinsoo. Reilan had needed over 300 **years** to get to the level he was at now. But she didn't have that time to learn. She had to do something, or she would probably die in less than a second.

Through the Shinsoo, she could vaguely feel the presences of the other Regulars. Reilan on the throne, Koon and the Gator nearby, Shinsoo aiming for Baam who was quite far from everyone else. The three assailing her, though she could see them anyway. Quickly closing the distance was Kasai, though even he wasn't fast enough to save her. She had to move now, if she wanted to keep living... So she did. It was a surprisingly simple movement, but she was able to will herself to overcome the Shinsoo weighing down upon her. And her rather feminine reaction, was to push.

To those observing her current situation, it seemed like a normal push. The result however, was anything **but** normal. All of the Shinsoo in front of her palms was pushed away, on contact. A great wave came forth, sending cracks along the floor before her, as the Insect's team was blown off their feet with immense force and through the air.

Kasai came to a halt, just as the Regulars were sent flying by Ashera's push. The cracks in the ground ran forward, and even trailed up the wall of the arena.

The Regulars hit the ground, right in front of the cracked part of the wall. Despite the force with which they were launched, and how hard the impact to the ground should have been, they all found themselves able to get up soon afterwards. Of course, they were incredibly shaky and learned it was easier to fall back down while attempting to get up. Mysteriously, they also found it exceedingly difficult to breathe.

_What in Mazino's white ass just happened...?_

"Ms. Ashera, you...?" Kasai looked to the one who had likely triggered the phenomenon, as she collapsed to her knees. "Ms. Ashera! Are you okay!?"

Huffing and panting in exhaustion, Ashera felt all the strength in her body expend at once. It was a few long moments before she could respond. "I... I think... so... but what... did I just... do?"

"I... honestly have no idea," Kasai regretfully admitted to the girl. "But whatever it was, I've never seen such a thing before." He gently rubbed her back, looking toward the Regulars, who seemed to be faring better as time passed.

_Maybe Mr. Reilan might have some idea of what just happened. But now that I think about it, did something also happen on his end just now?_

* * *

Reilan's shock lasted only until he read the flow of Shinsoo to determine what had actually happened. The Black March had reacted to Baam's will, and produced a defensive wave of Shinsoo to protect him. As surprising as that was, it could still be considered within reason due to the many mysteries still surrounding the 13 Month Series. Besides, even if he had successfully attacked, he would have stopped after just a single cut rather than trying to kill the Regular.

Of course, the shock came back when he witnessed the almighty push of Ashera. It actually took some time for him to register what she had done. Somehow, the girl had pushed... yes, **pushed** the Shinsoo with such force that it had adverse effects to everything ahead of her.

Shinsoo was considered to be limitless, yes, and it was entirely possible to turn Shinsoo itself into a tool that affects physical mediums. But the ability to physically touch Shinsoo itself, in it's purest form and push all of the Shinsoo within a certain area away, in such a way that said area is actually devoid of Shinsoo for a short time? Such a thing was impossible. It went against the laws of the Tower itself. _Yet that's exactly what I just witnessed. Our pre-established laws don't apply to her... do they? This is the power of one who wasn't chosen, an Irregular... And when I think of it that way, it should... be possible... Grandfather did say there was a trend of every Irregular having some specialty that defied the laws of the Tower. So Ashera can physically touch and move Shinsoo itself? I know what I saw, I can still see the Shinsoo rushing back to fill the area it was removed from. I just can't seem to really believe it._

The Gator observed the downed team, as they managed to get back up. "Blue Turtle, what did that Amazon Turtle just do?"

"How the hell am I supposed to know?" Replied Koon in exasperation. Things continued to get crazier and crazier. At the very least, it looked like the girl wouldn't be able to accomplish that ridiculous feat again this round.

After having been defended from the chakram of Shinsoo, Baam stared at Ashera, surprised at what she'd done.

* * *

Ship Leesoo, Anak Zahard, and Hatsu all stood in front of their room door, hands gripping the metal bars.

"That entire team is totally freaking ridiculous!" Exclaimed the jumpsuit clad ajussi. "We really lucked out that she didn't do that to us!"

"Yes, but the ones knocked aside look to be fine." The honorable dual swordsman pointed out. "I am very curious as to what manner of style she picked up to manage such a thing though."

Anak's eyes were currently glued to the girl who revealed herself to possess what may have been the most powerful push the Tower had ever seen. "That damnable Snake... His team is going to win."

Leesoo nodded in agreement, letting out a sigh. "That team is **way** too unfair. All three of them are ridiculous, and their leader is probably the strongest guy on this Floor."

* * *

Lero-Ro couldn't take his eyes off of Ashera, after what he'd seen. "I had heard the rumors, but Irregulars are truly... beyond imagination. Ms. Ashera seems to possess the ability to physically push Shinsoo out a given area... But how can such a thing be possible? And how can she do such a thing in the first place? I suppose it isn't unthinkable that Mr. Reilan showed her how to make a contract with the Guardian..."

He ran a hand through his blond hair, still processing the event that had unfolded before his very eyes. "What if she hasn't made a contract yet?"

* * *

The moment Koon realized that the Snake's attention was on his teammates, he nudged the Wraithraiser and darted to the throne.

"!" Stifling a gasp, Reilan immediately got over his sudden surprise, turning a single Baang into his transparent, spherical shield.

Koon grit his teeth as his knife was stopped by the Shinsoo barrier, and jumped back.

Rak came down from above the Snake, driving the tip of his spear down upon him, meeting the barrier instead. "Cowardly Snake Turtle!"

"Shut up, you overgrown reptile." Reilan hissed, pulling his feet onto the throne and standing. He stepped back, just as the spear pierced his barrier and struck where he had just been sitting. 3 Baangs formed in between his hands stacked one atop the other, as he backed up against the back of the throne.

"We've got him!" Exclaimed Koon, who swiftly jumped onto the right armrest of the throne, lunging forward with his knife aimed at the Snake and Manbarondenna raised defensively.

Gator swung his spear to finally strike at the snake, while the Baangs in his hands combined and expanded.

_Never underestimate the strength of a cornered beast,_ Thought the pressured snake, as the 3 Baangs transformed into a dark green, oversized great sword, roughly seven feet long, just from the blade. With this new weapon held in both hands, he pitched it forward, stopping the knife and the spear simultaneously.

"Get the **hell** out of here!" Pushing forward against his two assailants, Reilan swung the ridiculous great sword to repel the two while unleashing a massive blade of black Shinsoo, which cut through the area in front of the throne with a half circular arc.

Shinsoo Forging: Technique that turns a Baang into any weapon of choice. More combined Baangs yield a stronger weapon.

Thanks to Manbarondenna, Koon had managed to get off without any damage, but the blade of Shinsoo had blown him back over 8 meters from the throne. "What power... Just how much can he do?"

Rak parried the attack with his trusty spear, being forced back a similar distance to Koon. Unlike the blue one though, he had sustained a deep cut across his right arm. To him though, the cut wasn't a warning or a source of pain. Rather, it was a sign of further excitement soon to come. "This Turtle has spunk! Challenging this great Raleader with such an unwieldy weapon!"

"Unwieldy?" Reilan sighed, his cold yellow eyes glaring at the ones who had nearly caught him. "Keep thinking that. You'll die learning how wrong you are."

Ignoring the ache of his muscles, Koon lifted his bag in a taunting wave toward the Snake. "Hey Gator, check it out~ Doesn't he seem kind of angry now? And here I thought he was the cool kind, that would never let anything get to him~"

Rak spun his spear twice, before holding it in both hands once again. "Snake Turtle looks like he's lost his banana, and he's compensating with the big sword!"

"Shut up! I'm gonna kick your stupid fucking asses! I'll shove that puny knife so far up your ass that your mom'll feel it! When I'm done with **you** I'll have your intestines decorating that ugly shitty spear of yours!" A few seconds after his short outburst, Reilan chuckled. "Is... that how you wanted me to react? That I would be enraged enough to cloud my judgment and jump down from the throne to kill you?"

The chuckle transitioned to full on laughter, "Sorry, but there are only a handful of people in the Tower who have the ability to get me **that** worked up! You two are actually pretty damn good though, so I'll let you in on a little secret, as a reward for being so entertaining."

Reilan smirked, noticing Koon's subtle expression of disappointment at his failed taunt. "If I did actually forfeit the game by getting off of the throne in rage... You two would be dead before Ranker-nim could so much as blink."

Amused by the serious looks he was now getting from both of them, Reilan's sword transformed into a double bladed sword. "Come at me, bitches~ I'll be sure to neuter you both properly~"

* * *

Kasai pat Ashera on the back, as the throne was raided in the confusion. "You should rest until this round is over, okay?" With a look toward the throne, he called out, "Mr. Reilan! I'll be there to help you shortly!"

The response from the man on the throne was a thumbs up. He was definitely enjoying himself.

"Mr. Kasai?" Ashera stayed seated on the ground as she looked up at her friend. "That strange girl there... She can use Shinsoo to make people stop, I think..."

"I see! Thanks for telling me!" With a wink, Kasai focused on the team of three, Shinsoo flowing through and strengthening his entire body as he stormed forward at breakneck speeds.

The gale produced from the movement caused Ashera to raise her arms ahead of her face.

The boomerang wielding Regular, blinked as the swordsman reached them in a flash. Reacting as quickly as he could, he thrust his gauntlet clad arm forward, the boomerang shooting off at the target.

Kasai jumped to the side, avoiding the projectile and launching forward, sword raised as the Insect fired off all it's finger claws. "Arie Style: Stance of Transience- Ephemeral Talons!"

Insect caught the sight of multiple dark yellow talons, just as the sword was swung.

In an instant, Kasai had moved around and a few steps behind the Insect, sword held as if he had just swung. The next moment, the fingers of the creature were cut apart, along with it's cloak, purple blood spurting from the severed appendages and a number of cuts all over it's body.

Ephemeral Talons: Arie sword technique where the warrior swings his sword at high speed, faster than most can see. Multiple claw images can be seen by the target, just before they're attacked.

As the insect collapsed from the damage it had received beyond it's perception, the pale girl lifted her hand directed at Kasai. With her previous unintelligible language, a pressure bore down upon him. Or it should have.

Zipping past the girl, the swordsman's hilt connected with her neck, taking her consciousness away from her.

The baldy's boomerang weapon had just returned, so he caught it in a hurry, hoping to attack immediately. He was also too late.

Shifting his sword to use the blunt edge, Kasai lunged into the man before he could even attempt to launch her weapon. With a heavy downward cleave, the blunt edge crashed down upon the hairless part of his head.

"Whew..." With a sigh of relief, Kasai wiped his forehead and stepped past the baldy as he hit the ground, likely with a concussion.

_I didn't mean to be so violent, but they'll all live. Instead of helping Mr. Reilan, I **could** just knock out Mr. Baam._

His eyes shifted to the defenseless Regular. It was just a thought, but naturally one that would never come to pass. After all, the honorable Arie could never bring himself to strike down someone with no intention of fighting him.

_Alright then, here I come..._

* * *

Spinning his double bladed sword with swift precision, Reilan managed to hold off his two assailants while retaining his general position on the throne. Parrying a knife thrust with one end, he immediately continued the spin to clash against the incoming spear swing.

Rak was impressed upon finding the snake more than capable of matching his strength, reeling back a short distance while drawing his spear back in preparation for a straight thrust.

Koon's knife had been broken from the last parry, so he tossed it aside in favor of drawing another knife from his bag. This one was roughly four times the length of the knives he'd been using previously. "How about this?!"

"So you can adjust the size of anything you clone?" With the quick assessment, Reilan's sword was spun in a swift blurry motion, pushing the edge currently furthest from, him into the long sword-like knife, defending himself.

"You're open, Turtle!" Rak shouted, propelling his spear with fearsome force, the tip aiming for the head of the snake. The snake who, for some reason, made no attempt to react.

Shinsoo fortified the blade of Varatosk, as it struck the underside of the thrust spear, changing it's target to the back of the throne, which was pierced on the surface.

Reilan sighed, flicking his wrist to spin the double bladed sword once more at high speed, flinging the knife wielder back, and off the throne. "What took you so long? I thought you were supposed to be faster than me."

"You know, some people would just say thank you!" Kasai remarked with a smile, jumping to kick his foot out at the Gator.

Rak withdrew his spear swiftly enough, to block the kick with the body of the weapon, though he was pushed back a considerable distance in the process.

The yellow eyed predator, flicked his ponytail at his back, as his weapon turned into a basic longsword. "If you two want to forfeit now, I promise not to kill you on your way back to your room~"

"We wouldn't even mind if you wanted to wait out the remaining time," Kasai added, stepping closer to the throne and his ally. "We would be fine with continuing this in the final round~"

Reilan found himself smiling, as he glanced at Kasai, who followed his train of thought quite well. "Yeah. I could stand for that, since we'll be winning regardless. It's your choice. Wait and gain some rest time, or get eliminated right here~"

Koon exchanged a glance with his own partner, before leveling a confident gaze and smirk at the two opposing them. "Or maybe, you're only proposing that because you've actually started to get tired~ So we could just finish you right now~"

"Yes, the Snake Turtle is as slippery as they come!" Rak pronounced, tapping his spear against the ground. "Let us crack open his shell, along with the Speeding Turtle's!"

Kasai's head tilted to the side, upon hearing his designated nickname. "Speeding... turtle...? Can I ask you something? Why turtles?"

The question prompted the supreme Gator's arms to cross in front of his chest. "Because the taste of the meat within the shell of a turtle, is greater than any other! You would understand if you ate turtles sometime!"

"But we're human, we don't have shells." Argued Kasai, more than a bit concerned about how the massive creature viewed humans as a whole.

"Hahahaha!" With his hearty laugh, Rak pointed his spear at the swordsman. "From where I stand, there's no difference between turtles and humans!"

Koon facepalmed, seeing that his ally had fallen for the obvious baiting.

Reilan stroked his chin, observing the Gator. "Well certainly, I suppose that for someone of his stature, we may seem as inconsequential as little turtles."

The Snake lifted the hand he used to stroke his chin, dark green flames flaring into existence above his palm. "I actually have eaten some turtles before, but Gator will be a new experience. I warn you, I like my meat well done~"

A drop of sweat rolled down Koon's cheek, as he lifted Manbarondenna, his long knife held at the ready. He could even make fire? Maybe this guy had no real limits with Shinsoo?

"Burn!" Reilan said with a rather lyrical tone, lobbing a fireball at the two.

"Aaaand that's it! The fourth round is over!" The unexpected voice of the nearly forgotten Ranker rang out from his Lighthouse.

The dark green flames flickered out immediately, once the round was called to an end.

Lero-Ro continued, "This round goes to Mr. Reilan, Ms. Ashera, and Mr. Kasai! All other teams exit the arena! Everyone should prepare for the final round! I repeat, this will be your **last** shot at participating!"

_Just in time, hm? Was Mr. Reilan actually expecting the round to end then? No, I'm pretty sure he's just that skilled at Shinsoo control._

"Hmph, be prepared." Koon said, in warning to the enemy team. "Enjoy your time in the spotlight now, because we're definitely going to destroy you in the next round."

"I always love it when kids talk a big game. It makes you seem cuter~" Replied Reilan playfully, with a wink.

Kasai sighed as the blue haired boy turned in place, withdrawing with the Wraithraiser and Baam. "That went pretty well, didn't it? Though it did seem like they had you on the ropes."

Dropping onto the front of the throne as his Shinsoo sword vanished, Reilan smiled. "That's because they did. I told you, right? I'm only going to use 4 Baangs for this game if I can help it. Those two are skilled enough to have pushed me quite far. Though to be fair, that's only because I wanted to test them. I suppose you could say that I almost let my arrogance get the better of me."

"Arrogance and not confidence? I feel like you're opening up now~" Kasai pat Reilan on the shoulder in a friendly manner. "By the way, were you serious?"

"No, I take my meat medium-well." Reilan replied without hesitation.

Kasai laughed, scratching his head. "That's... not what I meant."

_I was wondering if you had eaten a cute turtle before..._

* * *

Lero-Ro smiled, watching the team that had defended the crown and throne. "Mr. Reilan on his own is already in a league of his own. Mr. Kasai is strong enough, that I would rate him at the same level as Ms. Anak, if not a bit higher. Ms. Ashera seems to be as full of surprises as Mr. Reilan is."

"That ability to turn Baangs into weapons... It's something even many Rankers have trouble with, unless it's the great Enryu. I've been wondering this since I witnessed him fight, but could it be that part of his talent lies in being one of the rare few born with the Plus Tendency?"

The Ranker chuckled, recalling the impossible feat pulled off by the Irregular girl. "She shows great promise. I wonder how skilled she'll be by the time the Position Test ends. All in all, this team is completely unbalanced in comparison to every other team. I find myself actually expecting their victory~"

* * *

Having made her way over, Ashera fell onto the throne next to Reilan with a deep sigh. "I'm glad you two seem to be getting along so well now, but aren't you concerned about me?"

"It isn't cute when girls demand attention, Ashera." Reilan said blankly, smiling in amusement as he looked at her. "Are you ok?"

Turning over onto her back, Ashera's eyes focused on the snake and the swordsman. "I'm fine now, but... Um, Mr. Reilan? Did I somehow use Shinsoo, like you? I thought it was supposed to take years and years of practice?"

_Well you thought right..._ This thought went unspoken by Kasai.

Reilan tapped a finger against his chin thoughtfully, observing the curious girl. "It's a bit difficult to explain exactly what you did, but it isn't something that I've ever heard of within the whole Tower."

"What? Nobody else has ever done whatever I did?" Ashera lifted her head slightly off the seat.

"It seems like you were somehow able to touch pure Shinsoo physically. Something considered impossible to do... at least, until I just saw you do it." Seaworth replied, a hint of hesitation heard in his voice. "Anyway, that aside... well done, both of you. I'm not exaggerating when I say that your performance this round exceeded my previous expectations for you."

As the two exchanged pleased looks, happy with the first compliment they ever received from their tentative leader, he continued, "To be honest, I wasn't completely confident in our ability to win with both of you left intact. However, you've proven yourselves considerably."

Kasai joined the two in relaxing on the throne, "I see! We'll be fine, as long as we work together! The only teams that were of any threat to us from the start, was Ms. Anak's and Mr. Baam's. With the former out of the way, we only have to deal with the latter. When they're eliminated, we won't have anything to fear from any other team that participates!"

_Yes, because the three of us are definitely the strongest team on this Floor~_

"I'll keep doing my best!" Ashera exclaimed. "I'm a bit tired still, but I should be ok by the time the round begins."

"Maybe this will help," Reilan suggested, offering a bar of wrapped chocolate to each of his partners. He decided not to risk diminishing the morale of the two, by bringing up the team from another district, which would probably turn out to present quite a bit of trouble.

Kasai whistled, accepting the bar happily. "Thanks! This is one of my favorites!"

She reluctantly accepted the offer of chocolate, but Ashera couldn't take her eyes off of Reilan, though she was more focused on his sash, especially when he produced a third bar. "I... don't think I'm ever going to get used to you pulling things out of nowhere like that..."

* * *

_**Author's Note:**_

_**First of all, thank you for coming back to read this chapter! I apologize for the delay. I've been really under the weather lately, due to Florida's ridiculously bipolar weather. I originally planned on having this chapter written and posted 2 weeks ago, but well you see how that went. Hahaha, even now, I had wanted to get the chapter done 3 days ago, but life has a way of ruining established plans.**_

_**Second, I'm looking forward to writing the next chapter. I really am. Especially since it'll be the first time Reilan and Androssi stand on the same battlefield. *coughcough*she gonna*coughcough*beat his ass*coughcoughcough* I'm still in limbo on how to handle Akryung's contributions though, because he WILL have to fight with Team Reilan going all out. Maybe he should have some specialty in controlling Shinsoo... hm.**_

_**Third, I'm sorry about this chapter being so damn long. It's 4000+ words longer than the last one. Main reason being that this has been my first ever battle-oriented chapter, and I decided to try out describing the fights in greater detail. Hopefully it was at least a bit better than the last chapter, and I really hope I didn't bore anyone. I did put a ton of effort into this though. Like I said last time, fights really seem to be my weakness.**_

_**Fourth, I'll just explain some things for information's sake-**_

_**Ashera's scenes were the ones I liked writing most by far, since I'm actually a black belt in Taekwondo. As such, I think I might have done the best with her parts. Especially since I just wrote it with my own personal experience. Believe it or not, I can actually do every single martial arts move she did, including the flips and twists. ^_^ For some reason I kept debating with myself on whether or not to capitalize the kicks she performed, but they ARE techniques after all, so I decided to just capitalize them. I'm sure some might think that her ability as an Irregular isn't too terribly impressive. And frankly, it's nothing in comparison to... let's say, Urek! Yet. I'll just say that she has a ridiculous potential, and what she did this chapter is barely scratching the cover of the book.**_

_**Kasai is a bit too kind, as far as Tower standards go. As evidenced by his displayed indecisiveness. Even though he knew that Reilan would really be fine holding off Koon and Rak while he aided Ashera, he still couldn't help but show equal concern for them both. About his style of fighting...**_

_**We haven't seen a damn thing from the Arie Family in the canon yet, so I just made up a style. For the sake of this story, it's going to be considered one of the top 3 styles of the Arie Family's main house. Kasai fights with a style comprised of three substyles, that have three completely different focuses that are referred to as stances. He showed off his Ephemeral Talons technique, from the Stance of Transience. The other two stances will naturally be revealed in the future... Actually, it's totally possible that both of them will be in the next chapter. Anyway, Kasai's fighting is actually a lot more difficult for me to write than Ashera's or Reilan's for some reason.**_

_**Reilan showed off a few new things this chapter: **_

_**Sundering Circle is kind of broken, when I think about it, since just Shinsoo Reinforcement isn't enough to deal with it. It may have seemed easy for him to use now, but he actually had a lot of trial and error problems in perfecting it in the past. What kind of problems? Well... I'm sure that'll come up in later chapters!**_

_****__**Reilan can turn Shinsoo into fire! This is another thing that he spent a lot of trial and error on... don't ask what he might have burned... I wonder what else he can turn Shinsoo into...**_

_**Shinsoo Forging is extremely broken, especially in the context Reilan uses it. As you saw, he can easily change the form and function of the weapons he makes even while in the middle of battle. He can make a single Baang into a single weapon, or combine Baangs into one weapon which would be more useful at the cost of those Baangs being subtracted from his overall combat potential while in use. Depending on the type of weapon he wields manually, he can utilize additional Shinsoo attacks. The reason for his ability to "match" Rak's strength is simple. The weapon is his Shinsoo, so he can control it freely. Add him manually wielding it, and he becomes able to control even the most subtle aspects of the weapon. If he really focused, I bet he could cut a single strand of hair from Jyu Viole Grace's ponytail, without even grazing the rest of his hairs.**_

_**-Ranker Ro was pretty vague when he talked about the ability to turn Baangs into weapons. The reason many Rankers struggle, is due to having natural limitations in Shinsoo that exist in probably 99% of the Tower's population. However, this is one of Reilan's specialties, and comes extremely easy to him. **_

_**-"Normally, the more numerous the number of Baangs, the smaller the Myun and lower the Soo that can be managed and the larger the Myun, the lower the Soo that can be managed. Soo therefore heavily depends on the numerical value of Myun and Baangs, as an increase in either means a decrease in Soo. Fundamentally, this is known as the Minus Tendency" "Sometimes, there is a special case in which the numbers of manageable Myun and Soo instead increase as the number of Baangs increases. This special case is known as Plus Tendency, and is an extremely rare talent." "The minus tendency can be overcome with improvement from training and support from external aids, which helps in reducing the amount minused. However, one can ****never** become a plus tendency. Also, being a plus does **not** mean one can produce an infinite number of Baangs. Pluses find it equally difficult to increase the number of Baangs." - credited to the incredible Tower of God Wiki!**  
**_

_**-Reilan is one who was lucky enough to be born with Plus Tendency on top of having immense potential in Shinsoo (of course, he hates the concept of believing in luck), which is why he finds it easy to pull of this ability. Especially when he simply creates numerous weapons and throws them at enemies. Of course, it still took him some years to master this skill. Though Enryu was probably able to do it the moment he set foot in the Tower.**_

_**-Lastly, the Shinsoo beams. Did it seem like Koon and Rak found it too easy to deal with them? Well, it's the easiest thing Reilan can do. Literally, he can produce Baangs and fire off beams like that as naturally as he breathes. But if someone is skilled enough to deal with them, he often won't bother spamming. If Reilan and our dear Viole fought in a straight up Shinsoo beam contest, Viole would crush him, because his Shinsoo beams are greatly amplified in comparison. Of course, Reilan can fire off more at a faster rate, but Viole's Shinsoo Resistance would casually laugh in his face. For that reason, his version of amplification takes longer than Viole's but would pack a bigger punch, as evidenced when he supercharged a Baang to attack Anak last chapter. Anyway, if basic beams don't work, he'd rather toss a crapload of projectile Shinsoo weapons, though it would tire him out way quicker.**_

_**And Reilan was sort of lying when he said he wasn't disadvantaged by sitting on the throne. As you've noticed, he's gone to great lengths in effort to avoid letting anyone know what family he's from. Some of his most powerful Shinsoo techs would be a dead giveaway to characters with knowledge of the Ten Family Heads, so he's going to stick to his self taught techniques.**_

_**Thanks again for reading! I encourage, and would love for you to give feedback on anything you feel needs improvement! Until next time! ^_^**_


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